


Mayday

by adtrap



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Desert Island Fic, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-09 16:04:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adtrap/pseuds/adtrap
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deserted Island AU with Rose Tyler and a Dr. John Smith. Our favorite cast of characters are stranded on an island after their plane goes down somewhere over the Indian Ocean. But not everyone is who they say they are and not everyone is who they think they are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Rose Tyler squinted against bright sunlight as she looked up at the blue airplane in front of her. Her brow furrowed as she frowned.

_Plane doesn’t look very big for a jumbo jet…_ She mused before shrugging the matter off. What did she know about flying anyway? This was her first time on a plane after all.

Rose was among the first passengers to board the unusually blue aircraft and was somewhat startled as she viewed the interior.

“Bit of a strange plane, eh?” Remarked a rounder gentleman with large glasses, “It’s almost bigger on the inside!” he exclaimed before chuckling heartily.

Rose merely smiled politely and glanced back down at her ticket crumpled and slightly damp in her sweaty palm.

“4A, 4A…” she muttered as she scanned the plane for her seat.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as she expected and she was also glad to have the window seat with only one vacancy to her right. Rose was grateful she had been upgraded to first class at the last minute, lest she have to spend the 19 hour flight to Fiji cramped on both sides by complete strangers.

Rose watched as the plane filled up with people. Those who took seats closest to her included what looked like to very feisty red heads with their significant others along with what seemed to be another couple, a woman with poufy hair and an incredibly good looking man who sent her a dazzling grin as he passed.

Rose sighed inwardly, hoping she wouldn’t be the only one on the trip who was traveling alone. She gazed out the window absentmindedly as her thoughts drifted. It was only months ago that she had finally left Jimmy Stone and only about a week since she had broken up with Mickey. She and her mother had gotten into an awful row after her mother had accused her of being high minded and ungrateful for all that Mickey had done for her.

Rose had been best mates with Mickey for years and they had known each other even longer. She felt a little guilty, she knew she hadn’t treated him too great all the time but she just couldn’t see a future for them.

_“I just want something new, mum!_ ”Rose had cried, _“Something different!”_

The day after that she had gotten a call from Hendricks, the shop where she worked her monotonous nine to five job. She had entered an employee drawing a few weeks back for an all-expense paid trip to Fiji, and won. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Rose sighed again. She and her mum had barely spoken the past week and Rose didn’t even say goodbye. She knew she wouldn’t have another chance so she pulled out her mobile and dialed her mother’s number.

Rose tried to fight back the little pricks of tears in the corner of her eyes as the answering machine picked it up.

“Um, hi mum. It’s me Rose. I… uh… I’m on the plane now. We’ll probably be taking off in a few and I just wanted to… uh… I just wanted to tell you that I love you and I’ll miss you. So, see you in two weeks.”

Rose rested her head on the back of her seat and wiped an errant tear from her eye. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a skinny man in a brown pinstriped suit rushing hurriedly down the aisle muttering apologies as he went. He slid into the empty seat next to her and grinned.

“Wasn’t too sure I was going to make it on time. It was like every inanimate object in my house was trying to keep me from getting here. Living plastic! Blimey, wouldn’t that be something!?”

Rose only smiled as she was slightly taken aback by the exuberant and rather good looking stranger with amazing hair.

“Sorry, where are my manners?” he continued extending his hand to her, “Dr. Johannes Smith, but everyone just calls me John, or Doctor. Whichever you like.”

“Rose. Rose Tyler,” she returned, sliding her hand into his.

She marveled slightly at how well her hand fit into his. She moved her gaze from their entwined hands to his eyes and couldn’t help but grin back. They kept eye contact for a moment before he gave her hand a slight squeeze and they both let go.

“Brilliant name that, Rose Tyler,” he said, testing the name out on his lips, “So tell me Rose Tyler, do you travel much?”

“Not really, this is my first time on a plane.”

“So you’re a virgin, eh?”

Rose’s eyes widened as did John’s.

“And uh… I meant that in the sense that this is your first time. Traveling. On an airplane. Yeah,” he quickly tried to amend, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding Rose’s eyes.

Rose laughed and John seemed to relax.

“Yes, I suppose I am,” Rose said, her grin widening and her tongue peeking out between her teeth, “How about you?”

“Oh I’ve been traveling for years. I’ve been all sorts of places. The world is a beautiful place Rose Tyler.”

“So do you travel professionally, or something? Is it part of your job?”

“No, weeeeell, I suppose yes, in a way that is. I’m a writer and I like to travel to different climates and cultures and things to get inspiration for the places and people that I write about.”

“What do you write about?”

“A 900 year old alien with two hearts who travels through time and space in a blue box.”

Rose laughed again.

“Sounds a lot more interesting than the rubbish they made us read in school!”

John grinned and Rose couldn’t help but think that the next 19 hours weren’t going to be as bad as she thought.

A pretty young woman with shoulder length brown hair in a blue uniform that matched the jet’s exterior appeared at the front of the plane and spoke into the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. If you haven’t already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin. Please take your seat and fasten your seat belt. And also make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position.

“If you are seated next to an emergency exit, please read carefully the special instructions card located by your seat. If you do not wish to perform the functions described in the event of an emergency, please ask a flight attendant to reseat you.

“At this time, we request that all mobile phones, pagers, radios and remote controlled toys be turned off for the full duration of the flight, as these items might interfere with the navigational and communication equipment on this aircraft. We request that all other electronic devices be turned off until we fly above 10,000 feet. We will notify you when it is safe to use such devices.

“We remind you that this is a non-smoking flight. Smoking is prohibited on the entire aircraft, including the lavatories. Tampering with, disabling or destroying the lavatory smoke detectors is prohibited by law.

"If you have any questions about our flight today, please don’t hesitate to ask one of our flight attendants. Have a pleasant flight and thank you for flying TARDIS Air.”

Only a few minutes after that the plane began to move forward, starting off slow but gradually gaining speed. Rose couldn’t help but think of all the horrid things she had seen on the news about crashing planes and terrorists. Her heart began pounding as the plane rose into the air and she took several deeps breaths and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to calm herself.

She felt strong fingers intertwine with her own and she hesitantly looked over at her hand now tightly grasping her hand and then to his face to see him kindly smile at her with nothing but warmth in his eyes. Rose could feel the panic that had begun to well in her stomach dissipate and she smiled gratefully at him.

The plane reached cruising altitude and the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign switched off. The pretty airline stewardess reappeared.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned off the Fasten Seat Belt sign, and you may now move around the cabin. However we always recommend you keep your seat belt fastened while you’re seated. You may now turn on your electronic devices such as calculators, CD players and laptop computers.

In a few moments, the flight attendants will be passing around the cabin to offer you hot or cold drinks, as well as a snack. Alcoholic drinks are also available at a nominal charge/with our compliments. Also, we will be showing you our video presentation. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Thank you.”

Rose subconsciously wondered why her hand was so warm before she remembered that she was still holding John’s hand. She debated for a moment whether or not she should remove her hand or just leave it where it was. It seemed as if John had forgotten as well so she decided it would be best if she didn’t end up holding a strangers hand for the duration of the flight.

She slid her hand out of his and John jumped, startled.

“Oh right, sorry!” he apologized.

“No need to, mate,” Rose chuckled, “I actually wanted to thank you… for that. It was ni-… uh, it helped. A lot. So thank you.”

“I know how nerve wracking a first flight can be. I mean, hurtling through the sky at 540 miles an hour 38,000 feet in the air in nothing but a glorified metal box with wings? Anything could happen!”

Rose swallowed hard, the panicky feeling coming back full force.

John pulled at his ear looking sheepish as he realized that that probably wasn’t the best thing to have said to a nervous traveler.

“I’m sorry, I’m sure were perfectly safe. Really, we are!” he tried to reassure her without success. John hesitantly reached for her hand a second time.

Rose’s breathing immediately began to even out as his calloused fingers gripped her soft hand.

 “I swear you’re making me nervous just so you can hold my hand Doctor John,” Rose smiled nervously and John grinned in return.

“You’ve got me all figured out Rose Tyler.”

Rose had initially assumed that she would be spending the duration of the flight in silence, absorbed in her own thoughts. But with her chatty companion she found herself in lively conversation with those seated directly in front, behind, and across from John and herself. Amy and Rory, or “stupid face” and Amy affectionately called him, were the young couple in front of her who were on their honeymoon, along with another couple who had won the lottery, Donna and Lee. Rose couldn’t quite figure out the two seated behind her, the gorgeous American who called himself “Captain Jack” and his fiancée, Professor River Song. The two were very comfortable with each other but in a best mates kind of way, they didn’t quite seem like a couple. That and also the fact that Rose would bet a hefty sum on Jack’s sexuality resembling a donut.

Rose also learned quite a lot about John. He had a four year old daughter named Jenny that was staying with her mother’s grandparents while he was gone for two weeks.

“Her mum didn’t want much to do with Jenny but her grandparents kind of adopted us both. I don’t really have any family. I did, but uh, they’re… gone now,” John said sadly before rushing forward, “Anyway, Jenny’s already in school. She’s as smart as a whip,” he told Rose proudly as he showed her a picture of a little blonde girl with pigtail braids and a pearly white smile.

“So what about you?” he asked Rose, “Who’s at home right now missing Rose?”

Rose looked down and picked at the fabric of her pale yellow dress.

“It’s just my mum and me in the flat. Dad died when I was a baby. A hit and run. My friend Mickey, too. But I’m not sure about them missing me so much. I got into a row with my mum after… well Mickey was my boyfriend but I just wasn’t feeling anything for him, you know? He’ll always be one of my best friends but that’s all. Anyway, I got into a fight with mum and…” Rose trailed off.

“I’m sure you’re missed Rose, I’d bet my life on it,” John told her, concern lacing his warm brown eyes.

“Yeah, thanks,” Rose sniffed, trying not to cry.

“So how’d you end up on a jet to Fiji?” he asked, attempting to change the subject.

“Um, I won this… work thing. All-expense paid trip to Fiji. Two weeks on the beach.”

“Really! We should… meet up sometime. Or not,” John stammered, not looking at Rose.

“Yeah, I would like that,” she smiled down at her lap, knowing she was blushing rather vigorously.

“Brilliant!”

Rose opened her mouth to speak but was cut off when the plane started to shake.

The “Fasten Seat Belt” light switched and simultaneously the airline stewardess reappeared, looking slightly frazzled and trying to remain calm for the sake of the passengers.

“Ladies and gentleman we are currently experiencing some slight turbulence. Please fasten your seat belts and remain calm.”

The passengers scrambled for something to hold on to as the intensity of the shaking increased and Rose’s hand automatically sought out John’s.

“ _Slight_ turbulence?” John muttered under his breath and tightened his hold on Rose’s hand.

Those around them were also beginning to panic and as the lights began to flicker screams could be heard throughout the plane. The aircraft continued to shudder, growing more violent by the second.

“John?” Rose called out in the dark.

“I’m here Rose, I’m here,” he reassured her as their grip on each other tightened.

The lights went out permanently, plunging the entire plane into blackness. People were pinned in their seats as the plane spiraled downward in an aggressive descent. There was a deafening rush of noise that joined the screams of the terrified passengers as the plane fell through the sky.

And then there was nothing.


	2. Sea and Sky

Sunlight.

That was the first thing Rose could feel upon waking. A bright and intense light that burned straight through her eyelids.

She turned her head to escape the sun and felt the sand that clung to her sticky skin.

Then she felt the heat, a suffocating and oppressive heat that sat like a stone on her chest and made it hard to breathe.

Then there was something cool and wet that tickled at her sides slightly before fading. Rose stretched her hand out after it, almost begging it to come back.

And come back it did.

A rush of water crashed over her limp and weak body and pulled her into its chilling embrace. She gasped for breath as the shock of it knocked the air right out of her lungs. Her nostrils and throat burned as salty water rushed into her airways. She choked and coughed as another wave surged over her, pulling her farther from the sand.

“Rose!” she heard someone shout, “Rose!”

A man hovered over her with blood on his face and fear in his eyes.

 _He has really great hair,_ she thought sleepily.

The man picked her up, gently sliding one arm under her knees and the other supporting her shoulders and carried her until he carefully placed her down on the soft, warm sand.

His face comes into Rose’s vision again and she feels cool hands on her cheeks.

“Rose, Rose… can you hear me Rose?”

 _Who’s Rose?_ She wondered as her head limply fell to the side and her eyes slid closed.

“Rose, stay with me!” The voice came again.

_Oh, that’s right. I’m Rose._

The man seems worried about her. He shouldn’t be worried. She’s fine, just a little tired is all. She just needs a good kip. No biggie.

Rose tried to tell the stranger this but when she opened her mouth to talk salty water sprang forth and she started coughing and choking. The man helped her sit up so she could breathe properly. From her new vantage point she could see fire. And people. People running and people crying and people screaming and people lying in the sand, unmoving.

“Rose… Rose can you look at me?”

Rose turned her head to the voice. It’s the man again, the stranger. Wait, no. Not a stranger.

_John._

“John?” She croaked.

John grinned, relieved.

“Yes, it’s me, John.”

“You… you held my hand.”

“Yes, yes I did. I held your hand,” he laughed.

“There was… a plane. It was shaking and there was this… noise. Oh my god,” Rose felt faint and her head was pounding as memories began pouring in.

“Rose, I need you to stay here okay? There are other people who need my help but you just stay right here. Just lie down right here and get your strength back. I’ll be back for you as soon as possible, just don’t move. Can you do that for me?”

Rose nodded weakly and John lowered her back onto the sand.

With one final glance at Rose, John took off in search of others in need.  Rose closed her eyes and lay as still as possible and the pounding in her head began to fade. Once she felt her strength returning she rolled over on her stomach and managed to get in a kneeling position. She waited until she caught her breath before finally rising to her feet. The sand moved beneath her shoes and she wobbled slightly before regaining her bearings.

Rose took a few unsteady steps before feeling fully in control of her limbs. Deciding she was well enough she began to look for anyone who might need help. It didn’t take her very long to spot an injured man only a few feet from her.

She knelt next to him and gasped when she saw the jagged piece of metal lodged in his abdomen, blood soaking his once white, pristine shirt.

The man moaned and his eyes fluttered open.

“Hello there,” Rose said, trying to keep her voice from trembling, “My name’s Rose. What’s your name?”

“Pete,” the man sputtered.

“Nice to meet you, Pete. Funny, that, uh, was my dad’s name. Now uh, I’m just going to look… I’m going to take a look at…” Rose trailed off as she slowly and gently unbuttoned the man’s shirt.

Her vision swam for a moment when she pulled the fabric back and revealed the gruesome wound. Rose was no doctor but she knew that it was a lost cause. Maybe in a hospital with equipment and a team of nurses and doctors he would have a fighting chance, but here on a beach with nothing?

“How bad is it?” Pete rasped.

“Oh not too bad,” Rose lied.

Pete chuckled and then grimaced.

“It’s bad isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry, Pete. You’re gonna get help, okay? We’re gonna get you stitched up and… you’ll be fine.”

“Your dad is a lucky man, Rose.”

Rose could do nothing to stop the tears from streaming down her face as she smiled a watery smile at the man. Her dad had died alone in the middle of the road and there was no way she would let that happen to this man. She grasped his hand as she sat in the sand while the man’s breathing became more labored. His hand went slack in hers and her tears turned into sobs that wracked her body.

She felt a presence behind her and then a comforting hand on her back. John knelt next to her and placed two fingers on the man’s neck and silently gathered Rose in his arms, letting her cry into his shoulder.

 

 

Evening had fallen on the stranded passengers who now had moved to a different part of the beach to avoid the site of the crash. Some sat numbly around fires that had been started while others were making plans of what to do next.

John, Rose, Jack, River, and a few other men and women were gathered on the edge of the forest that covered the majority of the island. Large plumes of smoke were seen farther inland and after assuming that it was another part of the plane, a team was being organized to see if there were any other survivors.

“I would like to join that team,” said a young woman as she approached the group, “I’m a doctor, well I will be after I graduate, but there could be injured people that need immediate treatment. I’ve gathered up as many medical tools as I could from the wreckage.”

“What’s your name?” Jack asked.

“Martha, Martha Jones.”

“Good, I’ll also add you to the team going to out to find other survivors tomorrow.”

“We’ll also need people to go out in search of food and water. There’s some food from the plane but not enough to last very long, especially if we could be having more join us,” John added.

“Right, do you and Rose want to head that up? River and I will take Martha and-”

“Who the hell put you in charge?” An older blonde woman interrupted Jack.

“Well we need someone to and no one else was-”

“What makes you qualified to be our “leader”! How do we know if we can trust you!” A man yelled, taking a few steps toward Jack.

John immediately stepped in between the two.

“Everyone just needs to calm down, okay? We aren’t going to survive if we don’t work together.”

“You all are making it sound like we’re still going to be here tomorrow! People are going to come looking for us. They know where the plane went down and I bet we will all be back in our own beds by tomorrow night!”

“Actually,” said a voice belonging to the airline stewardess, “We were experiencing slight malfunctions with the navigational instruments. We diverted our course to the nearest airport to get things fixed. I’m not saying that we won’t get rescued but we were off course so it could take a bit longer.”

The man stormed off and the blonde woman followed after him.

Jack turned to the stewardess.

“Just how far off course were we?”

“I’m really not sure. Like I said there were navigational errors but at least 80 miles. I’m Clara by the way.”

Jack sighed in frustration.

“Maybe we should continue this in the morning. I’m sure it’ll be easier for us to think straight after a good night sleep,” John suggested.

The group agreed and after dispersing Rose went in search of Donna. Donna was sitting in front of a fire next to Lee, whose leg was bandaged.

Donna smiled weakly at Rose as she approached.

“How’s your leg?” Rose asked Lee.

Lee shrugged.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Donna answered, “But he should stay off it for a while.”

“Oh I was going to ask you two if you wanted to come look for food and water tomorrow with me and John.”

“I would but…” Donna trailed off, gesturing to her invalid husband, “Anyway, I wouldn’t want to interfere with your alone time with Dr. Stick Man,” she added, grinning.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Rose protested, blushing.

She and Donna chatted amicably for a while before Rose felt her eyelids getting heavy. After saying goodnight to Donna and Lee she went in search of her suitcase, hoping it was amid the large pile of luggage that had been retrieved from various parts of the beach. She smiled when she spotted Amy also searching through the pile of suitcases and duffle bags.

“Any luck?” Rose called out to her.

“Not yet,” the Scottish girl replied, “It’s not like I really packed for a deserted island anyway. Oh is this yours?”

Rose almost squealed as Amy held up a bright pink suitcase. A cool breeze had started to blow as soon as the sun went down and Rose searched her luggage for something to put over her bare arms and shoulders. Her torn yellow halter dress wasn’t cutting it.

“I know, I don’t think bikinis and sundresses are going to do me much good,” Rose sighed as she came up empty, except for her favorite striped scarf.

“Well you’re better off than me,” Amy snorted good naturedly, “I didn’t bring much other than lingerie. It’s supposed to be my honeymoon after all!”

The girls laughed and Amy went off in search of her new husband. Rose sighed and looked down at the multicolored scarf in her hands. She buried her nose in the soft fabric, relishing in the familiar and comforting scent of her home. She tied the scarf around her neck and walked to the area not far from the fire where people had begun to settle down for the night.

After tossing and turning in the sand with nothing to separate her from the elements she gave up on sleep. Quietly tiptoeing her way around the sleeping figures she made her way to the edge of the ocean. She removed her shoes and placed one toe in the water. It was warmer than she expected as she took a few tentative steps in. She stopped when she the water was about halfway up her shin and the waves barely skimmed her knees.

Rose shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as the cool breeze blew. She looked up at the night sky and it nearly took her breath away. The sky was an inky black peppered with stars. She never saw this kind of sky in London. The sky and the ocean stretched out as far as she could see and suddenly she was so tiny in the vast expanse of sea and sky. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t hear someone else swishing through the water behind her.

She jumped as a torn suit jacket was placed around her bare shoulders. She smiled as she saw John, suit pants rolled up and exposing thin pale legs. She giggled slightly as she recalled Donna’s words. “Dr. Stick Man”.

“What?” John asked and Rose just shook her head before looking back to the sky.

“It’s so beautiful,” she murmured.

John stared at Rose curiously and it was Rose’s turn to be confused.

“What?”

“We’re here stuck on this island after with the chance that we might not make it home for a very long time. But you, Rose Tyler, you look up and see the beauty,” he said, looking at her almost wistfully.

“D’ you really think we’re stuck here?”

“I have no clue. This whole thing is just… not good.”

“Oh I don’t know, stuck with you… ‘S not so bad.”

John grinned at her.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Rose moved closer to John and put her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her waist. The pair just watched the world in silence as the tide ebbed and flowed around them. 


	3. Stone Angel

The next day dawned with a thick fog settled over the island. Its newfound inhabitants rose with grumbling stomachs that were left unsatisfied by the meager portions given to them. In case Rose and John were unsuccessful finding food, what little they had had to be stretched as far as possible.

Jack, River, Martha, Rose, and John were discussing which directions they were going when Rory ran up to them, looking frazzled.

"Have any of you seen Amy?"

"Not since last night, no," Rose answered and the others shook their heads.

"She wasn't here when I woke up. I thought she might've gone back to the wreckage to find our luggage but that was at least two hours ago."

"I'm sure she's fine Rory," John reassured him as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "She probably just out exploring."

"Still, she could've gotten lost," River said.

"We'll keep an eye out for her though, yeah?" Rose smiled kindly at him.

"Do you want to come with us, Rory?" River asked and Jack shot her a look that she ignored.

Rose frowned. River was infallibly calm in every situation so far but now she had a look in her eye that was just… Rose couldn't find the words for it. It was almost like love and joy and desperation and grief all rolled into one. Not to mention that Rose still hadn't quite figured out what was going with River and Captain Jack.

"Yes, yes I would," Rory nodded vigorously.

"Okay then, I'll go get ready," River said and walked briskly away from the group.

"We leave in five minutes," Jack nearly snapped at Rory and Martha, a thunderous look in his eyes as he chased after River.

Rory, absorbed by his own duress, didn't seem to notice the odd encounter but Martha looked at Rose and raised an eyebrow.

"We should probably get going Rose," John suggested, extending his hand to her.

"Well, see you guys later I guess. Don't worry Rory, Amy will show up!" Rose called over her shoulder as she and John took off across the beach to the jungle.

"Wait!" Rose slowed as they reached the tree line. She let go of John's hand and jogged over to the luggage pile. After rummaging for a few seconds she triumphantly waved a black bag over her head.

"What do we need that for?" John called out.

"Unless your pockets are bigger on the inside than we might need something to put the food in! If we even find any that is," Rose added as she rejoined John at the edge of the jungle.

"You are truly brilliant Rose Tyler! Allonsy!"

Rose giggled as they walked farther from the beach and deeper into the dense vegetation, duffel in one hand, John's in the other. A giddy smile spread across her face as she realized that the motion of reaching for each other was second nature now.

"What are you smiling about?" John asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just a bit of thinking is all."

"That's dangerous," John grinned cheekily.

"Oh shut up!" Rose laughed as she bumped her body against his, "So what's our plan, just find a river for water and then follow the river to look for food?"

"Sounds about right to me!"

Rose winced as her side got caught in a thorn bush.

"You alright?"

"Yeah fine, just tangled in this bush," Rose answered as she detached herself from the barbs.

"It's a bit curious, don't you think?" John asked with a slight frown.

"The bush?"

"You're fine."

"It was just a little thorn. Are you okay, John?"

"You're fine. We're all fine."

"What are you going off about? Are you talking about the crash? Because a lot of people died yesterday!" Rose said forcefully, remembering the man whose hand she held as he took his last breaths, "And what about Lee's leg and all those people Martha and Rory were taking care of last night?"

"Think about it though, the only injuries or deaths were shrapnel from the plane. We've got a couple cuts and bruises but no one has impact injuries or head trauma!"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I don't know… it's all just a bit weird to me."

The two continued walking in contemplative silence until Rose decided to lighten the mood.

"So is this the kind of thing your space cowboy gets up to?"

"My space cowboy? Oh from my books! Hmmm, getting stranded on an island with a beautiful woman? Can't say he's had that adventure yet. I'm starting to think that maybe he should."

"So what exactly does he do?" Rose asked, looking at her feet so John wouldn't see her cheeks turn scarlet.

"Oh the usual. Travels through time and space, saves the universe. And he is not a  _space cowboy_  Rose. He's called the Doctor."

"Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor. He is the last of the Time Lords, the most ancient and noble race in the history of the universe."

"Hmm, seems a bit pompous to me," Rose teased, grinning cheekily and John laughed, "So does he travel by himself? Or does he have friends?"

"He's on his own for the most part. He has friends that come and go but no one stays for very long."

"Well that's a lonely life! Does he have family?"

"Nope, they're all gone."

"Blimey, those books of yours seem like a great pick me up."

John smiled weakly and his eyes look sad. Rose was immediately brought back to their conversation on the plane the day prior.

" _I don't really have any family,"_ he had told her _. "I did, but uh, they're… gone now."_

Rose took a good look at the man beside her. He always seemed to be radiating a kind of giddy and young energy but when she looked at him now, lost in his thoughts, his eyes seemed… old.

John told her he was always traveling and didn't speak of anyone in his life except for his daughter and her grandparents. Even the mother of his child wasn't around anymore.

_He's on his own for the most part. He has friends that come and go but no one stays for very long._

Rose held his hand a little tighter. She was going to stay, that's for sure.

"So what do you think about Jack and River?" Rose asked, hoping to distract him from whatever thoughts were making him look so despondent.

"Hmm?"

"Jack and River, what do you think about them?"

"They are an odd couple, that's for sure."

Rose laughed.

"They aren't even a couple!"

John looked quizzically at Rose.

"They're not?"

"No! Jack's not even…"

"Jack's not what?"

"He's not totally straight, that's what I'm saying. And River and him sure aren't engaged."

"Why didn't I pick up that? I'm usually good at that kind of thing."

"Well I don't care if Jack's gay or bisexual or whatever but why do you think they lied to us?"

"I dunno… could be government agents or something. Wait!" John stopped suddenly and Rose ran into his back.

"What?" She asked, whipping her head around.

"Shh shh… do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Just listen…"

Rose could hear nothing except the sounds of birds and the leaves rustling in the wind and the rushing sound of a waterfall… a waterfall!

"I hear it!" she exclaimed and they dashed off in the direction the sound was coming from.

They burst through the trees and into a clearing. They stood in awed silence as the gazed up at the water that plummeted at least 20 feet into a crystal clear pool of water that went on to become a slow and meandering river.

The rocks that weren't shining with spray were covered in thick green moss. Late morning sunlight streamed through the canopy of the jungle and caught on the little droplets of water, making the entire clearing glow.

"S' beautiful!" Rose breathed, "Like something from a fairytale. I feel like elves are going to jump out or something."

"Elves, no. Angels? Maybe," John said, nodding his head upward at a solitary statue that stood at the top of the waterfall. Its wings were stretched out halfway and its hands covered lifeless gray eyes.

"What on  _earth_  is that thing doing on an island?" Rose asked as she stared at the stone figure in disbelief.

"Who knows?" John shrugged, "Maybe it's left over from some extinct civilization. Although it's in incredibly good condition considering that this type of climate would have most likely destroyed any ancient artifacts. Still," he continued, scratching his head, "I suppose anything is possible."

"What's that over there?" Rose asked, pointing to the other side of the river.

John squinted in that direction before pulling a pair of glasses out of his suit pocket and sliding them on his face. Rose tried not to gape at him. While John was already exceptionally attractive, the glasses brought it to a whole new level. He looked at her curiously, noticing her staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing, s' just… the glasses," she answered, momentarily unable to form any coherent thought.

"What about 'em?"

"You just look…"

"Sexy?" he asked playfully, shooting Rose a wink.

"I was going to say different!"

"Good different or bad different?"

"Just… different. Now can we move on?"

John grinned and looked back across the river.

"Looks like luggage," he noted, "Maybe some of it landed here- whhaaat are you doing?"

"Well the river looks pretty deep," Rose began as she pulled off her borrowed boots, "and I don't know about you," she continued, pulling off her shirt and shimmying out of her shorts, "but I'm hot and I'm going for a swim."

John's jaw went slack as he took in the sight of Rose Tyler in a bright yellow bikini.

"What?" Rose asked, grinning with her tongue peeking out and a hand on her hip.

"I, ah, erm, well…"

"Somethin' the matter Doctor John?" Rose asked innocently with wide, teasing eyes and a mischievous smile.

John's mouth snapped shut.

"Nope, not at all. Nothing is the matter. No matters here, Miss Tyler!"

"Good to know," Rose replied cheekily, glad that she wasn't the only one affected by the other's presence, "Now come on skinny boy, we haven't got all day."

John pulled off his own trainers with great difficulty as he tried to tear his eyes away from Rose as she waded into the river.

It didn't take the two very long to cross the water and soon they were looking through the various pieces of luggage scattered in the clearing.

Rose pulled the zipper back on one suitcase and her eyebrows shot up at the amount of lace in contained, instantly recalling her conversation with Amy on the beach the night before.

"I found Amy's!" Rose called out to John.

"How do you know it's Amy's?"

Rose slammed the top down as John appeared over her shoulder.

"I just do," she answered, turning and smiling brightly at him.

John raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. He turned his head inquisitively and Rose followed his line of vision to see a broken metal briefcase.

"It looks like one of those one's you see in spy movies," Rose joked as she and John walked over to it.

"The latches must have broken open when it hit the rocks," John said softly, kneeling in front of it.

Rose gasped as John opened it and revealed two cold steel guns, along with an unmarked file containing several documents.

"Well this might explain some things," John said as he unzipped the inner pocket and procured two pieces of paper from customs and passed them to Rose.

Rose inhaled sharply when she saw the pictures on each of the documents.

"It's River and Jack!"

"Captain Jack Harkness and Professor Melody Pond, Torchwood. Torchwood? What's Torchwood? Have you heard of that, Torchwood?"

"No," Rose shook her head, "Maybe it's an American thing."

"Maybe. Well they were officially cleared so I think it's safe to say they aren't terrorists."

"Well what do we do? Give it back to them?"

"Let's see if we can get some answers first. Do you have that duffel bag?"

"No, I left on the other side. Want me to go get it?"

"Nah," John stood and headed back to the river, "I'll get it."

Rose nodded and scanned the area for other pieces of luggage. She frowned as she caught sight of the angel statue near the top of the waterfall. Its hands lay at its sides and the head was now slightly to the side, whereas Rose could have sworn its hands were covering its eyes as it faced down.

She dug her bare foot into the soft moss and began climbing, using jagged rocks to pull herself upward.

"What are you doing Rose?" John called up to her.

"Just getting a better look at something is all. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to see more from up here anyway," she answered down to him.

"Alright, just be careful! It's slippery!"

"Will do!"

Rose heaved a sigh of relief as she reached the top and pulled herself onto the upper bank. She stood and wiped the moss and dirt off of her bare legs. She tilted her head to one side and stared curiously at the statue. Its arms were slightly outstretched and it faced Rose head on.

"Hey John!" Rose called, turning her head, "Come get a look at this-" Rose stopped and screamed at the sight before her.

The angel was barely a foot away and its arms were raised above her head. Its teeth were bared viciously as Rose, terrified, stared into its grey and empty eyes.

"Rose! Rose, what is it!" John yelled from below.

"The… it's the statue John," Rose stammered fearfully, "I looked away and then it moved and now it looks like it wants to kill me!"

There was only silence and Rose was afraid John thought she was joking.

"John?" she called out, not taking her eyes off of the stone creature.

"Hold on Rose, I'm coming! Just, don't blink okay? Whatever you do, don't blink!"

"John…" Rose whispered as tears began welling in her eyes.

"Don't blink, Rose! Just hold on!"

Rose's vision was just beginning to blur when she felt a comforting hand slip into hers.

"Okay, I've got it. You can blink if you need to."

She blinked and previously unshed tears streamed down her face.

"What is it John?" Rose asked, wiping her eyes and focusing them back on the statue.

"It's a myth. A legend. At least it's supposed to be."

"Am I gonna die?"

Rose felt John tighten his grip on her.

"No. You, Rose Tyler, may just be one of the best things that has happened to me in a while. And I am not going to let you die, you hear me?"

Rose nodded.

"Now I need you to trust me. Do you trust me Rose?"

"Always."

"Good, because this is a very good chance that my plan might not work. Do you still trust me?"

"After you said that, how can I not?" Rose answered, smiling weakly.

"Okay Rose, we are going to take a couple of steps back now."

John squeezed her hand again and they took a few small steps closer to the edge.

"We have to jump Rose. Twenty feet down. Are you okay with that?"

Rose nodded quickly and swallowed.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good with that."

"But we are going to have to jump backwards. And we need to push off as hard as possible away from the edge. Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm so glad I met you!"

"Me too."

"Now jump!"

Only seconds later Rose emerged from the surface of the water, spluttering. A hand found hers and she allowed it to guide her back to the bank.

"What happened to it!?" Rose asked, frantically looking around.

John pointed upward to where they had stood only moments before. The angel was leaning over the edge, arms stretched forward and teeth bared as it stared down into the water.

"When you look at them, they turn to stone. The moment you look away, though, they come alive."

"Well why did it freeze?"

"It's staring at itself. Turned to stone by its own reflection."

"Are we safe?"

"For the moment. Once the sun goes down and it can't see itself anymore…"

"Let's get out of here, John!" Rose pleaded.

"Sounds like a good idea. We can't go back for the luggage though, or the briefcase. I don't want to risk disturbing the water. That's why we couldn't hit the water too close to the edge."

Rose took a shaky breath and got back into her clothes and John did the same. With one final glance back at the stone angel, they joined hands and ran back into the forest.

"What was it, John? How did you know what to do with it?"

"I spent a few weeks with some homeless people on the streets of New York City a few years back. They had all kinds of stories about statues being one place one moment and someplace else the next. Street lights would mysteriously go out. Their friends would vanish and then be seen minutes later yet decades older. They said that when you blink, they move faster than lightning. I used the stories as an inspiration for one of my books. Called them the Mourning Angels."

"Is that how he escaped in your book? The Doctor, did he have it look at its own reflection?"

"No, there were four Angels and he tricked them into looking at each other."

"Hmm, clever," Rose said, a bit of a smile on her face.

"Very clever. Sound like anyone you know?"

Rose laughed and bumped him with her shoulder, levity returning to the pair.

"Rose, look!"

"What! What!" Rose looked around fearfully, scanning the jungle for another Angel.

"A banana tree!"

Rose laughed in relief, her heart slowing down. John climbed the tree and brought down a bunch of bananas. After they had eaten (Rose had two and John had five, "Excellent source of potassium, Rose!"), Rose looked at him seriously.

"Thank you, John. Really, I don't know what those things are or what they do but… you saved my life," she told him softly before standing on her tip toes and pressing a kiss to John's cheek.

"My pleasure, Rose Tyler," he answered, his voice low as he stared into her eyes.

They held each other's gaze for several moments before John reached out and placed a hand on her cheek. The solemn look in his eyes changed to something else. He looked at her with such tenderness and amazement. She didn't think anyone had looked at her this way before, like she was the most exotic and beautiful thing on the planet.

"Am I really one of the best things that has happened to you?" Rose whispered.

"Oh yes."

Though they had met only yesterday there was an undeniable attraction, a spark between them that began making itself manifest as the two drew closer to each other. Their gaze never wavered until their eyes closed and their lips met in a kiss that was sweet and slow and tasted like bananas.


	4. Guns and Roses

"You walk a dangerous line, River Song," Jack whispered warningly into River's ear as they started into the jungle, Rory and Martha trailing behind.

"I am well aware of the situation and am perfectly capable of controlling myself. So you really have nothing to fear,  _Captain_ ," She whispered back sharply.

"Let's keep it that way, shall we? I don't need to remind you of the precariousness of the situation. It is our mission to keep the universe from complete destruction, but now we have a potential paradox on our hands. If you can't keep yourself in control then I can have you transmatted back to HQ faster than you can blink. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," River hissed between clenched teeth.

"Good. Now that my lecture as your commanding officer is out of the way, I'm asking you as your friend, River… are you okay?"

"I will be," River said softly, "Thank you, Jack."

Jack shook his head.

"If I had known Amy and Rory would be on that plane I never would have let you come. The probability of that happening was so miniscule I never even gave it a moment's thought. The universe is a bitch, that's for sure."

"Yeah, she is," River agreed dryly.

"Well, on second thought, she has stranded us on this island together so maybe we'll have a couple of opportunities to… properly play our roll as fiancés," Jack whispered seductively with a playful grin.

"Stop it Jack!" River laughed reluctantly, halfheartedly cursing her best friend's ability to know how to cheer her up.

"So do you really think this is it?" River asked, getting back on serious matters.

"What? What he warned us about? I almost hope it is. We're in the middle of the ocean so if we do our jobs right there won't be a public scene with a lot of casualties. That also means less clean up and even less paperwork."

"Well we've been waiting six years for something to happen. And really, TARDIS Air? That's a bit obvious."

"I still wish he had given us a few more details. We haven't been able to figure out what we're up against."

"Something tells me we won't have to wait much longer," River said as she took a quick glance at Rory and Martha to make sure they weren't paying too much attention to them.

She pulled out a small, metal handheld device and held it in front of her.

"Anything?" Jack asked.

"Still calibrating," answered River as the contraption began to whir softly.

River frowned as it beeped a few times and she smacked it against her palm.

"Something's interfering with the signal, I can't get a lock on her. Try connecting with HQ," she told Jack.

"Not now," said Jack, casting a furtive glance at Rory and Martha.

"What could be interfering? We're on a deserted island, there isn't a whole lot here to be blocking the signal."

"Trees?"

River rolled her eyes.

"You've been stuck in the 21st century too long Jack. 51st century tech doesn't have a problem with  _trees_."

Jack opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted when Martha caught up with them.

"How exactly are we going to find the other part of the plane?" she asked, readjusting the large bag full of mismatched medical supplies on her shoulder.

"Here, let me carry that for you," Jack offered with a brilliant smile and River tried not to roll her eyes.

"Thanks," Martha replied, reddening slightly.

"No problem, darling. Well Martha Jones, you see that smoke coming up from the trees over there?" Jack asked and Martha nodded, "We are going to go in that direction, assuming that that's the other half of the wreckage, of course."

"What else could it be?" Martha laughed slightly.

The four continued on through the morning, stopping to rest at a trickling brook when the sun was almost directly above them.

"I can't see the smoke anymore," Martha said as she craned her neck and looked up at the sky.

"But you can smell it," River remarked as a breeze began to blow, carrying the faint scent of smoke along with it.

"It's coming from that way," Jack pointed and began heading in that direction, the other's trailing after him.

Soon enough they reached a stretch of charred stumps and flattened trees with the twisted remains of a jumbo jet at one end. The smoke was still heavy as the group treaded carefully over ashes.

"Hello?" Martha called out as they got nearer.

"Is anyone there?" River joined in.

There was silence except for the rustling of the trees.

"Are they all… dead?" Rory asked shakily.

Jack put the medical bag on the ground and clambered through a hole in the metal. He frowned as he scanned the interior. There were about 40 seats in all, each and every one of them empty. There were no signs of any survivors, or of any deaths.

"There's nothing here!" He yelled after popping his head back out into the open.

"Nothing?" River asked as Jack helped her up.

"Nothing? But that's not possible," Martha said, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"There's no people, no bodies. It's like they all just vanished," Jack said looking at River.

"Could they have just walked away, maybe? Gone looking for us?" Martha suggested.

"Do you think they've been taken?" Rory swallowed, "Maybe something took them like it took Amy."

Something on the far end of the plane caught River's eye and she walked slowly towards it. It looked like writing but she couldn't quite make out the words. She stopped and her blood froze as the words became clear. Engraved into the planes interior wall with what looked like a rock, the letter's at least a foot tall, were the last words that she wanted to read.

_DON'T BLINK._

"Jack!" River shouted, startling him, Rory, and Martha out of their conversation.

"Jack," she said again, softer this time but still just as panicked, "It's the Angels, they're here."

* * *

John and Rose journeyed through the jungle in contemplative silence, both of them a mix of emotions.

Rose could still see the cold stone eyes that bored into her own and fiercely bared teeth as the statue waited for her to break her gaze. A chill ran through her spine and she subconsciously looked over her shoulder. John still hadn't completely explained exactly what that thing was or what it did, but she knew enough to be terrified.

Then there was Jack and River, who she had instantly liked upon meeting even though she could tell they were hiding something. But after finding that strange case with the guns and the documents, her trust in them wavered. She assumed they were government agents of some kind. Did they know that the plane was going to crash? Were they supposed to stop it? Rose remembered their cool and calm demeanor and how they instantly took charge while others remained in shock. Although, if they were spies or something they would be used to being in dangerous situations.

Rose sighed and caught John's eye. They both looked down, almost shyly, and John gave Rose's hand a quick squeeze.

Rose felt her stomach do little flips. From the moment she had met John she was drawn to him. His bright and energetic personality made her smile and laugh. Even though she tried to ignore the little niggling romantic part in the back of her mind, she couldn't deny the way her and John's hands seemed to fit together perfectly, and on their coalition at times. It was true that they had only met yesterday but since then they had survived a plane crash, been stranded on an island, and almost killed by that… statue thing.

Rose rubbed her lips together, remembering the way his lips felt against her own. Gentle yet determined. Tongues hadn't been involved (yet) but Rose couldn't help but think what an excellent snogger he would make. She felt herself blush instantly at the thought and stole a quick look at John who thankfully seemed just as absorbed in his thoughts as she was.

She had liked Jimmy because he was the bad boy, he was edgy, and he was also dangerous. Mickey had been safe and that was what she needed then. He was good and safe and other monosyllabic words and he loved her and she loved him but not really in a romantic way as they had both thought.

But John, John was thrilling, exhilarating, dynamic, and mysterious. Rose got a little thrill every time they touched. It was strange really, that she could be so happy in these circumstances.

Rose snuck a look at John and searched his face in an attempt to gain some sort of insight into what he was thinking. She remembered how they both had stepped away from each other after their kiss, almost as if they had been shocked by the charge that flowed between them. John's hand flew to the back of his neck as he looked down at the ground with a sheepish grin. He had managed to stammer a "We should probably get going", but it had been a bit of a painful process. Rose's heart had dropped down to her stomach in fear that they had ruined their easy camaraderie. But John had stretched his hand out and wiggled his fingers and Rose grabbed them, biting back a smile.

"So what kind of doctor are you?" Rose asked, testing the silence,

"Hmm?" John's head snapped towards Rose.

"What kind of doctor are you?" she repeated.

"Cosmology," he chirped, stepping lightly over a rotting log.

Rose looked at him expectantly and John smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, cosmology is a branch of astronomy, the study of time and space and causality and the like. I also have a doctorate in physics."

"Impressive. So you must be pretty smart, then," Rose said, biting back a smile.

"Oh I'm brilliant!"

"Modest, too."

"Such cheek," John tsked in mock disappointment.

Rose laughed and ducked under a low hanging branch.

"So why'd you end up a writer when you had all those fancy degrees?"

"I honestly don't know. Just had all of these ideas banging around in my head that I wanted to get out on paper. Well that, and I could have my own schedule and take care of Jenny. What about you? What do you do?"

Rose tipped her head, her blonde hair partially covering her face. She felt her cheeks grow hot and suddenly started feeling self-conscious as she thought about her monotonous life of waking up, working at a shop, going home, eating, and then going to bed just to get up the next morning and repeat.

"Oh, not much really, just a job in a shop…" Rose trailed off, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh how fun," John said lightly, oblivious to Rose's discomfort, "I love a little shop."

"So that… that statue thing… the Mourning Angel or whatever," Rose began, eager to change the subject," you never really finished telling me what it was."

"Oh yeah, I think we got a bit distracted," John grinned and winked at Rose.

She blushed but was internally pleased that he didn't seem to regret their kiss.

"The Mourning Angels," John started, "I don't know what they're really called. That's just what I used for my book. This is going to sound insane but they don't kill really kill you, at least not in the traditional sense.  _They send you back in time_. The homeless people I met in New York said that people would just vanish off of the streets and then be seen seconds later but decades older, most on the brink of death. At first I thought it was just drugs or something."

"At first?"

"Well every morning I would go to this little coffee shop and I would walk through Central Park to get there. And every morning I would walk by the same group of statues. Then one day, they're gone! Just like that! The next day they were back, but in slightly different positions. So I asked around a bit to see if the statues got moved but no one really knew anything. That was really the only proof I got that there might be something to the stories but I had to admit it was pretty weak. But after that I would always get this feeling, like I was being watched whenever I walked by them. I thought I was just being paranoid and what not but now…"

"Well why do you think that they only move when you can't see them?"

"I have absolutely no clue."

"Well normally I would write you lot off as a bunch of nutters but I did almost just get killed by one. Or ' _sent back in time'_  as you say. D'you think there's more of 'em out there?"

"I hope not, seeming as we might be stuck here a bit longer than we thought. Does make you wonder what else could be on this island," John added, making Rose shiver and look over her shoulder.

* * *

"What do you mean "the Angels"? What the hell is "DON'T BLINK"? And where did all of the people go?" Martha demanded.

"Do you think they're still around?" Jack asked River, ignoring Martha's questions, "These guys have always been more your problem anyway."

"They're already gotten all the life here. There wouldn't be any point in them hanging around here. Still, we need to get back to the beach and warn the others," River answered.

"Warn them of what? Would someone tell us what is going on?" Martha pressed, growing more alarmed as her questions continued to fall on deaf ears.

"Do the… uh, 'angels' have Amy?" Rory swallowed nervously.

"We can answer questions later. Right now we need to get back to the beach," Jack said, walking down the aisle and jumping out of the wreckage with the others following closely behind.

"Wait Jack!" River called out after him, "What about John and Rose? They went out to look for food and water."

"We'll loop around to the path they were taking and hopefully we'll catch them. If we don't intercept them and if they aren't back to the beach we can go looking for them. But for now, we need to get Rory and Martha back to the beach."

"WHAT ABOUT AMY?!" Rory yelled as they quickly headed back to the forest, stopping them all in their tracks.

River turned and walked to where Rory stood.

"Amy will be fine, Rory," River told him, holding him by his shoulders and looking him in the eye.

"H-how do you know?" Rory asked her, distraught.

"Trust me Rory, she will be okay."

Rory nodded hastily, unsure as to why he felt like he could trust this stranger so implicitly.

"Okay," River nodded at him before they all started back for the beach.

The four walked in a strained silence for a while with Jack leading the group and River taking up the rear, both of them keeping a close look out for anything out of the ordinary. They found a wide and sleepy river which they followed upstream until they came to a clearing with a large waterfall.

Jack grinned when he saw a brown tie with a blue design haphazardly discarded on the rocks.

"John and Rose were definitely here. And having quite a bit of fun by the looks of it. How on earth did he manage that?"

"Not the time, Jack," River sighed.

"When you guys said angels what exactly did you mean by that?" Rory asked, fixated on something near the cusp of the waterfall.

"We don't really have time to get into it-" Jack started but stopped sharply when he caught sight of a statue of an angel, frozen in place as it peered down at itself in the water below.

"Oh my god," River breathed.

"Bloody clever bastard," Jack said, half in awe and half in fear, knowing exactly who was responsible, "Never seen anyone try that before."

"What? It is just a statue… isn't it?" Martha asked, glancing at it worriedly before turning back to Jack and River.

"It's a Weeping Angel," River said, "We'll explain everything later but right now we need to get back to the others."

Martha and Rory wasted no time in getting away from the mysterious entity but River nudged Jack when she saw the metal briefcase, contents scattered around it, on the other embankment.

"We have bigger problems on our hands right now," Jack murmured into her ear, "Guns can't kill stone, after all."


	5. Coming East Wind

John considered himself to be a man of high intelligence. He had an above average grasp on the way the world worked and the people that lived in it. He had traveled to countless out of reach places and thrown himself into the cultures of the natives, absorbing every little detail and every miniscule fact that he could along the way.

So he supposed that it was no surprise that he had a bit of an ego. An ego that was no doubt heightened by the beautiful woman he had succeeded in gaining special attention from. It was the ego that John blamed for waiting until he was absolutely sure that he had no idea where he was going before stopping to take account of their surroundings.

As Rose sat heavily on a fallen log to catch her breath John shoved his hands in his pockets and squinted up at the sky.

_So the sun rises in the East and sets in the West and it's after noon… And Rose and I watched the sun rise this morning on the beach so EAST! So we keep the sun directly behind us! I told you I knew what I was doing!_

"John? Jooohn? JOHN!" Rose yelled, snapping him out if his inner monologue.

"Hm? Oh right, sorry. We're you saying something?"

"Yeah," Rose chuckled, "I was asking you if you'd gotten us lost."

"What? Lost?  _Me_  getting us  _lost_!? That's ridiculous! No, that is more than ridiculous, that's… that's… that's  _outlandish_  and  _preposterous._ Pssh,  _lost._  I am  _hurt_  at your lack of confidence in me Rose Tyler. Like  _I_ would get lost."

"We're lost aren't we."

"Mmm, just a bit yeah."

"Great, lost in the jungle with killer statues," Rose groaned, holding her head in her hands.

"Well, actually, we aren't lost anymore. We need keep the sun behind us and head East," John said, whirling around and pointing in the desired direction.

"That's where we just came from!" Rose cried.

John rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before pointing an accusatory finger at Rose.

"Well it's your fault!"

"My fault! How is it  _my_ fault! I thought you were the world traveler with all the experience!"

"Well if I wasn't so distracted than maybe…"

"How is you being distracted my f-" Rose stopped suddenly as her exasperation melted and a sly grin took over her face.

Realizing what he had just implied, John looked away quickly.

"I, uh… that's not what I meant!"

"Doctor John," Rose began, her eyes twinkling mischievously, "are you saying that I distract you?" She asked with an innocent façade as she stood and walked, or rather, sashayed, over to John.

John's eyes went wide and he swallowed audibly.

"Uhh…"

"How could  _I_ possibly distract  _you_?"

Memories of Rose's full lips on his, the taste of banana, and the feel of her hips under his hands flashed through his head as she smoothed the lapels of his suit jacket and looked up at him through her eyelashes with a grin.

"Anyway," Rose said airily and took a large step back from John, who had to physically stop himself from grabbing her and crashing his lips to hers, "We should probably get going and make it back to the beach before it gets dark."

"You, Rose Tyler, are a wicked, wicked woman," John nearly growled as he took after her.

The pair made it back to the beach just as the last of the sunlight faded into dusk. Cries of relief were heard as they got near to the group that looked significantly smaller than when they had left that morning.

Rose was greeted by a mouthful of red hair as Donna gave her a bone crushing hug.

"Thank god you're okay. I was so worried," Donna told her as she stepped back.

"What about me? Do I get a hug?" John asked from the side.

"If I hug you I'll get a paper cut you flimsy strip of nothin'!" Donna replied rather abrasively and John wasn't sure if he should be offended or not.

"That's her way of saying she was worried about you, too," Lee offered as he limped toward them.

"What's going on here?" John asked and Donna and Lee exchanged looks.

"Talk to River and Jack, they can probably explain it much better than I can," Donna told them before turning back to Lee, "And you can go hobble on back to your stump mister so you can rest that leg!"

Lee nodded and turned, lacking the stamina and the desire to argue with his wife, who followed him.

"Oh good, you're here," Jack said nonchalantly as he trotted up to the two with River close behind.

"Yeah, good. Now would you mind explaining what the hell is going on here? Where is everyone?" John snapped.

"This is going to sound a little insane-"

"Well we almost got killed or sent back in time or whatever by some angel statue so why don't you try us?" Rose interrupted, equally outraged as John.

"They're called the Weeping Angels," River started calmly.

"I thought they were Mourning Angels?" Rose asked, looking at John who shrugged innocently.

"I just made that up for my book! I didn't know they even really existed, much less had a name!"

"Your book?" River asked with a solitary eyebrow raised.

John's hand automatically went to the back of his neck.

"Yeah, my book. I'm a, uh, writer. And, well, I write. About an alien who, you know, travels through space and time. In a police box."

"Anyway," River began again, "they're life forms that can only move when you aren't watching them. The moment they're looked at they turn to stone. When they touch you they can send you back in time. They literally feed off of your time energy so if they go long enough without feeding they die but the more time energy they gather the stronger they become and the farther they can send you back in time."

"So what, was it your mission to come here and destroy them or something?" Rose asked and River and Jack exchanged an unreadable look.

"Mission?" Jack inquired.

"Yeah, you're government agents right? Torchwood? Me an' John found that briefcase. You've been lyin' to us the whole time haven't ya? You two aren't even engaged and I could tell that way before we found those papers! Isn't that right  _Professor Pond_ , if that is even your real name? I mean, I thought River Song was a bit different but Professor Pond sounds like some cartoon!"

Jack and River fell silent and all were a slightly taken aback by Rose's outburst, including herself. John couldn't help but think it was cute the way her accent got stronger when she was angry. He made a mental note that Rose was most definitely not to be underestimated.

River surprised all of them when she started to laugh. She pulled the gold band off of her ring finger and shoved it in her pocket.

"I said you were rubbish at being straight, especially when you have Ianto waiting for you back in Cardiff!" she chuckled, poking Jack in the chest.

"You are full of surprises, Rose," Jack grinned, pulling off his own "wedding band".

"You're right," a sobering River told Rose, "Jack and I were sent to locate and neutralize the Angels. But to answer your next question, no we didn't know that the jet would go down."

"You said neutralize," noted John, "so you have some means to destroy them, I assume?"

"No…" Jack said as he and River exchanged another knowing look.

"The guns you found were merely standard Torchwood agent protocol. The weapons we did have were destroyed in the crash," River finished.

"So we're defenseless against them?" John asked.

"Not completely. You demonstrated that you're capable of finding a way out. That move with the water and its own reflection was pretty impressive," Jack said.

"How'd you find out about that?" Rose asked.

"We came across the same waterfall and saw the Angel," River explained.

"Oh that reminds me," Jack grinned as he reached into his back pocket and tossed John his tie, "Found this on a branch, looks like it was whipped off in quite the hurry."

John scratched the side of his head and Rose looked down at her feet even though nothing had happened then.

"Yes, I am rather impressive," John chirped, brushing off his momentary embarrassment, "but that was only temporary. Once it gets dark enough it won't be able to see its reflection and it'll be free."

"You're right, so we need to find an enclosed space to take refuge in. Maybe a cave or something with only one entrance that can be guarded. It isn't safe out in the open," Jack pointed out.

"Shouldn't we talk about this as a group?" Rose asked, "I mean, it's all of our lives at risk here."

"She's right," John nodded.

"Okay, well you two can round up the group, or what's left of it, and we'll join you in a minute," River told them.

John frowned slightly but didn't object.

River sighed as she and Jack watched the two walk towards the other survivors.

"So you think they bought it?" River asked.

"It's the only thing that makes sense to them right now."

"I can't help but think we should tell them the truth. Maybe just Rose? She's intelligent and is in the best position to keep an eye on things."

Jack shook his head.

"We can't tell them anything. It's too soon."

River nodded, albeit resignedly, then smiled.

"I told you you would be a rubbish fiancé," she laughed, nudging him with her elbow.

Jack laughed and the two made their way across the darkening beach.

John looked around at the somber faces, illuminated by the large fire in the middle of their circle. The remaining survivors totaled fourteen in all, exactly half of what it had been this morning, he noted with a sigh. He couldn't even remember all of their names. There was of course Amy, who he had immediately liked when they met a few days ago.

He knew Jethro, whose parents had vanished after straying from the group that morning. His parents had been the ones who had challenged Jack the first night they were on the island and John couldn't help but think that there may be less conflict in the group but he immediately felt guilty after catching sight of the lost look in the young man's eyes.

There was a blonde girl, Sally, he recalled, on Rose's right whose best friend had gone missing, along with a man, Billy, she had quickly befriended on the plane. Much like Rose and himself he thought solemnly and shuddered to think of Rose being sent back years in the past and living out the rest of her life alone and afraid on a potentially dangerous island.

John gave Rose's hand a quick squeeze, as if to reassure them both they were alive and together, and would hopefully stay that way. She shot him a quick yet bright smile and he felt his heart flutter a bit, his mind rushing back to the way her lips felt and tasted, the way she laughed and teased, and how brave and held together she was despite their situations. Being with Rose made it easy to forget that all of them were in serious danger.

Hearing Rose's tinkling laugh he knew that he wasn't alone in those sentiments. He wasn't the only one who seemed to find solace in Rose's company.

Once River and Jack reconvened with the group plans were made the next day to go in search of a new shelter inland. Several were concerns were raised about rescue teams being unable to spot them from deep inside the jungle, but once the alternative of being sent back in time by strange creatures was resurfaced, all were in agreement to find a safer place. There were no objections to Jack and River taking the lead this time around.

"What about all of the people who died, yesterday I mean, like Pete. Shouldn't we have some kind of funeral for them or at least bury them? It's not right to leave their bodies out in the open," Rose asked towards the end of the discussion.

Many others murmured in agreement and further plans were made to bury the dead and have some kind of service. No one could remember all of their names and thought it wouldn't be right to talk about the dead as if they knew them, so after much deliberation it was decided that they would have a small moment of silence.

Jack and John volunteered to keep watch for half the night as the rest of the group slept in the light of the large fire.

John, taking the first watch, sat in the warm sand and faced the dense jungle. The pale moonlight painted everything with a soft, white glow. The waves lapped quietly against the shore behind him and the fire crackled and snapped. He could hear the soft sighs and hums of those who were sleeping. He smiled to himself. It really was rather peaceful and beautiful.

 _Jenny loves the beach_ , John thought and his heart clenched painfully at the thought of his little blonde and pig tailed four year old waiting for her daddy to come home. He wondered if she was sleeping at night without her bed time story or without having the monsters chased out from under her bed. He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. Oh how he missed his baby girl.

There was quiet movement from behind and he shook the sadness from his eyes and smiled as Rose flumped down in the sand beside him.

"You should be sleeping," he told her, not taking his eyes off of the tree line.

"Can't," she answered.

John stole a quick look at Rose and could see that she was troubled.

"Something the matter?"

Rose sighed heavily.

"'S just… I feel guilty."

"Why? None of this was your fault."

"I know, but… poor Jethro lost his mum and dad, Rory lost Amy, Sally lost two of her friends, and then there's all those others that have just vanished and I never even knew their names. I can't help but feel guilty that while all of this is happening, while some people's lives have fallen apart I haven't actually been having too bad of a time. And then I feel even more guilty because my mum and Mickey must be worried sick about me! People have died and have gone missing and then there's me and you having a grand old time getting lost in the jungle and eating bananas and…" Rose trailed off.

"And kissing?" John finished with a half-smile.

Rose nodded silently.

"Do you regret it?" she asked him softly.

"No," John shook his head, "I don't. Do you?"

"Never," Rose answered without skipping a beat, "But…"

"But?"

"Maybe we should just… I dunno…"

"Hold off on it… for a bit?"

"For a bit," Rose agreed with her signature smile.

John smiled and the two sat in a comfortable silence.

"You should try and get some sleep. We've got cave hunting to do tomorrow," he told her.

"I don't think I could sleep if I tried. Anyway, it'd be safer if you had some company."

"Really, it's fine Rose. I don't mind doing this alone."

"Better with two though, yeah?" she asked, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Much."

The hours passed and Rose eventually fell asleep on his shoulder and soon enough John felt his own eyelids getting heavy. He didn't want Rose to wake up while he got Jack's attention so after much deliberation he gently scooped her up in his arms. He nudged Jack's shoulder with his foot and after a few good pokes a groggy Jack eventually arose. He gave John a sleepy yet suggestive grin at the slumbering girl curled slightly against his chest which John tried to ignore but couldn't fight the smile that grew on his lips. As much as John didn't want to admit it, the Captain was slowly but surely growing on him.

He carefully set Rose down in the sand, resting her head on his suit jacket. After getting as comfortable as he could in the lumpy sand, John soon joined her in sleep.

 

* * *

 

Jack sighed as the inky black sky heavily peppered with stars slowly faded to a dusty pink. He stretched his legs and winced at his aching muscles. He would have to start waking people up soon. They had another extremely eventful day ahead of them but all of that could wait a few minutes. He peered up at the sky and smiled. It reminded him so much of the early mornings on the beaches of his home, Boeshane Peninsula.

A hand on his shoulder jolted him from his thoughts and he turned sharply to see River standing behind him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"Home," he replied simply and River nodded understandingly, for she too was a long way from home in more ways than one.

"Is something the matter?" he asked her, noting her concerned face.

"Doesn't something seem off to you, Jack?"

"What do you mean 'off'?"

"If this whole thing was about the Weeping Angels don't you think that we would have been told? They aren't exactly a new threat. I'm not saying they aren't dangerous but we've dealt with them before. So why is this time different? Why did such drastic action have to be taken?"

"What are you saying? That the Angels aren't the real problem?"

"I don't know Jack but I keep getting this feeling that the Angels should be the least of our worries."


	6. Order of the Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooorrrrry sorrrry soooooorrrrrrryyyy sorrryyyy for the wait! I actually have a really good excuse but I'll save it for the end note because you fantastical people have waited long enough!

" _What are you saying? That the Angels aren't the real problem?"_

" _I don't know Jack but I keep getting this feeling that the Angels should be the least of our worries."_

* * *

The morning was a flurry of activity. Supplies and luggage were combined into only a few bags to make traveling easier on one part of the beach while graves were being dug on the other. Those who were carrying out that particular task were silent as the worked. The wreckage of the plane was still scattered across the sand along with the dead which made for a gruesome and surreal scene.

John and Rose hadn't seen much of each other that morning. Rose had awoken first with her head on John's chest and his arm around her shoulders. She had scrambled up, wide awake, as carefully as possible as to not waken. She quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed the rather intimate position and it seemed she was safe. Then again, Jack had waggled his eyebrows at her along with an impish grin. But that very well could've just been Jack.

John was across the beach with a makeshift shovel made from scrap metal from the plane crudely tied to driftwood with tattered rope. His mind kept drifting toward his conversation with Rose the previous night and their decision to hold off on anything romantic until they acclimated to their new circumstances. Yes, he was slightly or more than slightly disappointed but the reasoning was sound and his respect for Rose grew exponentially. John hoped that they wouldn't have to get too acclimated before being found and taken home. A small smile blossomed on his face at the feeling that what he had with Rose would most certainly continue once they got off the island.

The work was finished just as the sun had fully risen over the horizon. The beach cast a warm glow on solemn faces as everyone gathered around the discolored sand in honor of the dead beneath it. John wrapped a supportive arm around Rose as she shed a few silent tears with much of the group.

Finding better shelter by nightfall was priority so after respects were paid the remaining fourteen survivors split into two groups of seven. One group, led by River, would take a more navigable path for the benefit of the injured while Jack's group would take a quicker route with a rougher terrain.

Rose, having offered to help the former group, gave John's hand a small squeeze and told him to go with Jack's group, knowing he liked adventure.

"But…" he begun to protest, a torn look on his face.

"Just go John," Rose laughed, "I'll be fine."

John looked at Jack's group already heading into the forest and then back at Rose.

"I'll see you later," he said, looking her in the eye.

"Not if I see you first," she replied with a tongue touched grin.

John smiled as he turned and chased after Jack's group, looking back at Rose once before disappearing into the dense forest.

"Rose?"

Rose whirled around to see Donna standing behind her with a knowing smile on her face.

"Yeah?" Rose answered, trying to ignore the heat she felt rising on her cheeks.

"River wants to get going so unless you plan on staying here and staring after lover boy you should probably join us."

* * *

"I feel bad for saying all of this because I love Tom, I really do but it's just…"

Martha sighed and shook her head while Rose nodded sympathetically as the two women walked side by side on the narrow path.

"I mean, we've been engaged for over six months and we haven't even picked a date yet! I brought it up the other day and he seemed very… whatever about it! It's like, you either want to marry me or you don't, right?"

"Right."

"So why is he being so… apathetic? I guess he could be scared, I don't know."

"You wanna know what I think?" Donna called out from behind them.

"Don't think they have much of a choice," Lee muttered under his breath.

"Oi! You better watch it, it's my arm that's keeping your gorgeous face from meeting the bloody ground," Donna said indignantly, " _Anyway_ , dump 'im. Husbands are rubbish. All they do is leave their dirty socks on the floor and dishes in the sink."

"Thanks, love."

"Oh, shut up. You know I love you and I was just joking. But seriously," Donna looked back at Martha, "You don't need him."

Rose and Martha exchanged smiles as Donna went back to yelling at her husband.

"Would you watch where you put your giant feet? That's the third time you've stepped on my foot!"

"Yes, dear."

"Maybe we should stop for a few," Martha suggested leaning against a tree, "It's been a few hours."

River nodded and the group stopped to rest. Rose cast a glance at River who was consulting a map drawn hastily by Jack earlier. Rose hadn't spoken to her since her outburst the day before and to be honest, she felt a little guilty.

 _I pretty much told her she had a stupid name_ , Rose thought, wincing slightly as she remembered her less than kind words toward the curly haired woman.

"So where exactly is it that we're going?" Rose asked River in an attempt to break the ice.

River looked up quickly at her approach.

"To a river Jack and I found yesterday looking for survivors," River lied smoothly, not about to tell Rose it was because she had 51st century technology that could man the next 500 miles of terrain, "It was a bit larger than the one you and John found and met the Angel and farther inland so there's a better chance to find shelter. When there's a water source that size it's a pretty safe bet that you'll find a cave, especially on an island like this."

Rose nodded, not fully understanding.

"You seem like quite the expert," she noted.

"Well I  _am_  an archaeologist so I have some experience with caves," River replied with a small grin that Rose returned.

"Look," Rose started after a beat and closed her eyes, "Sorry about yesterday, I didn't mean to insult you, or your name I was just… frustrated is all."

"It's fine, River Song isn't my real name. It's a nickname given to me by someone a long time ago," River looked away from Rose, her eyes clearly saying she was somewhere else, "I haven't been Melody Pond in a very long time."

Rose wasn't sure how to reply to that but thankfully, she didn't have to. River snapped back to the present and looked behind Rose at the rest of their group.

"Are we ready to get started again?" she asked them.

"In a minute," Martha replied from the ground where she was kneeling in front of Lee checking on the gash in his leg that had reopened.

"I'll clean it up properly once we get to wherever we're going," she told him, giving the new bandage a gentle pat.

Donna and Martha helped Lee to his feet and followed after River.

"Let me take that for you," an older man offered Martha, pointing at the large black bag filled with medical supplies on her shoulder.

"That would be great, yeah," Martha told him with a grateful look.

Rose smiled to herself, glad that there weren't any major personality conflicts. If she  _had_  to be stranded on a deserted island she wouldn't have chosen any other group of people to be stranded with. She smiled sadly and flexed her hand, missing the way John's fingers fit perfectly with her own. She caught sight of an older woman taking up the rear and couldn't help but notice a distant look in her eyes. It was a look she saw in her own mum sometimes whenever she talked about Rose's dad.

Rose, true to her nature, couldn't stand people in any kind of pain so she hesitantly fell into step with her.

"I don't think we've properly met yet, m'names Rose. Rose Tyler."

"Sky Sylvestry," the woman said simply in return.

"Well would you look at that," Rose said with a bright grin, "We've got all kinds of nature names, haven't we? River and Rose and Sky."

Sky smiled softly but said nothing so Rose cleared her throat and tried again.

"I won a contest at work for a two week vacation in Fiji but I guess this isn't too far off. Why were you headed to Fiji?"

Sky sighed.

"I guess you could say I was running away."

"I suppose I was running too, in a way," Rose pondered, "It had already been a rough year and then I broke up with my boyfriend, which didn't make mum too happy, believe me. It was all getting to be a bit much and then when I won the contest it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get away for while."

Sky seemed hesitate before relenting.

"My relationship went south recently as well. She just left, went off to America with barely a word. Everything reminded me of her so…"

"Running seems to be the theme of the day, eh?" Rose said good naturedly and was relieved when Sky laughed, bringing light into her blue eyes.

* * *

" _Tusks_! It turns out the white things are tusks! And it's woken and it's not happy and there's 15 of us,  _naked_ , and I'm like 'Oh I don't know, it's got nothing to do with me' and then it roars and, oh my god, we are  _runnin'_  and Brokovitch falls so I turn to him and said 'I knew we should've turned left'!"

John rolled his eyes as his group bursts into laughter but couldn't stop the smile that grew on his face at Jack's wild story. Jack had continued to steadily grow on him and anyone who can make six people forget about the fact that they're separated from their families and their homes and on the lookout for time assassins in the form of angel statues deserves commendation.

"I do not believe you!" Clara exclaimed.

"It's the whole truth, doll!"

The farther they walked to more John realized he missed Rose. They hadn't been apart for no more than four hours but he was already felt a little lost without her by his side. The fact that the island was dangerous was even more disconcerting and increased his desire have her with him, holding his hand and making this rather dreadful experience a little less dreadful.

Jack was on the tail end of another one of his wild stories when they broke through the trees and into a clearing.

"Did the duck seriously have fangs…" Jethro trailed off as they all took in their surroundings.

"Are those… little houses?" Sally asked.

A small bubbling stream ran through the clearing. On one side there was a dilapidated hut-like shelter made from dead palm branches and clay. On the other side of the stream there were two others, nearly identical to the first.

Jack and John peered into one of the huts and found it empty.

"These are abandoned, and they have been for a while. It's my guess that they haven't been lived in for decades," muttered a studious girl named Deedee as she examined one, "This is kind of my area," she explained, pushing her glasses up her nose as the group looked at her in surprise, "I wrote a paper on the lost colony of Poosh."

There was a nearby scream from the singular hut across the stream and John rushed over, followed closely by Jack.

"Th-th-there's a body in that one," Sally stammered, pointing a trembling finger.

John looked inside and inhaled sharply. Sure enough there was a mostly decomposed body, not much more than a skeleton. What caught John's eye was the inch long gold cross on a simple chain around the corpse's neck.

John pulled back so Jack could have a look.

"Billy had a necklace that looked just like that," Sally whispered, a tear running down her cheek, "He told me that his grandmother gave it to him."

"It's those, time angel things you warned us about, isn't it?" Rory asked Jack.

"But just yesterday he was…" Clara started, wrapping a comforting arm around Sally's shoulder.

"It's what they do," Jack sighed, "they send you back in time where you live out your life."

"Can we get out of here?" Jethro asked, "This place is starting to give me the creeps."

"Yeah, I'm with Jethro on that one," Rory said, nodding vigorously.

"Agreed," John stated as he looked around them with wide eyes.

"How far from that cave are we?" Clara asked nervously.

"Not far now," Jack answered as he plunged back into the jungle, the rest hot on his heels.

* * *

"So really, the idea that life exists outside of Earth's atmosphere is absolutely absurd!"

Rose weakly nodded along to the old Professor Hobb's lecture about the ridiculousness of extraterrestrial life. She had never thought about the topic too much and had a hard time following the Professors complex language. But he was nice enough, though his idea's seemed a bit small minded, especially considering their current predicament. He reminded Rose a little bit of her granddad.

"Wow, that's… quite the theory you have," Rose finally said, struggling to find something to say in reply.

"Ohoh! It's not a theory at all, my dear, it is absolute fact!"

"I bet it is."

"Now…" the Professor began again and Rose had to bite back a groan. She wasn't sure if she could take another science jargon filled lecture. Her mind was still reeling from the first one and she prayed for a distraction.

There was a rustling of movement from behind the group and everyone froze. In an instant there were three Angels forming a triangle around them.

 _Not the distraction I was hoping for,_  Rose thought.

"Okay, there are seven of us and only three of them," River reassured them.

"For now," Rose muttered.

"Thank you, Rose," River said sounding exasperated.

"Sorry."

"Who has the one by the vines?" River asked.

"I do," Martha said, swallowing audibly.

"And the one by the rotten log?"

"Me," said Donna, sounding completely unlike her usual self.

"And I have the one right in front of me. Rose!"

"Yeah?"

River tossed Rose her communicator.

"Press the red button on the side and then talk. Jack has the other one, he'll be able to hear you. The other three of you give us some backup."

Rose took a deep breath and pressed the red button.

"Jack?"

* * *

A sharp burst of static from Jack's pocket startled them all.

" _Jack_?"

John immediately recognized the terrified voice as Rose's and his heart sank.

"That you, Rose?" Jack asked, speaking into some kind of walkie talkie.

" _Y-yeah, it's me. We've got company_."

"How many?"

" _Three_."

Jack took a deep breath.

"Okay, three. That's… manageable. What are your coordinates?"

" _I- I don't know_."

There was a short silence before an answer came.

" _Uh… nine degrees south and_ -"

The rest of her answer was drowned out by static.

"Hello? Rose can you hear me?" Jack yelled into the device.

There was nothing but static and Jack whacked his communicator against his palm.

"Dammit!"

"What's going on Jack?" John demanded.

"I don't know, my communicator cut out!"

A scream echoed across the island and something told John exactly whose it was.

So he started to run.

* * *

"Jack? Jack? Are you there?"

Nothing but static.

"What's wrong with it River?" Rose asked helplessly.

"I… I don't know!"

A sudden darkness settled over them and being the only one able to do so, Rose looked up.

"What is it Rose?" Martha asked, panic evident in her voice.

"I don't know, it's like this cloud thing. 'S just sort of… swirling around us."

The dark grey mass churned above them, growing thicker and thicker making their surroundings darker and darker as it blocked out the sun.

Rose couldn't hold back the scream that wrenched through her throat as the mass plunged downward, heading straight for them.

"Forget the Angels and run!" River yelled at them and they wasted no time in listening to her.

Rose was never much of a runner but no one would have been able to tell as adrenaline flooded her veins and propelled her over the uneven terrain faster than she thought possible. She could hear snapping twigs and pounding footsteps behind her but they faded after a while and Rose wasn't sure if they were ever there at all. The darkness had lifted a while back but she kept on running until she felt as if her lungs were going to burst.

Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath. There was the faint trickling sounds of water and Rose followed it, wearily stumbling over the rocks and roots. As she got nearer to the sound it turned from a trickle to a mighty roar. Rose laughed manically as she broke through the trees and saw a rushing waterfall, and behind that a gap hollowed out from stone.

She dropped to her knees and plunged her hands into the water, cupping them and bringing the cool liquid to her dry lips.

There were killer statues, killer… cloud things, and who knows what else out in the forest but Rose pushed all of that out of her mind. She was exhausted and after leaning sluggishly against the cool stone of the cave, gave herself up to sleep.

* * *

John pounded through the forest in the direction of Rose's scream.

Was he being foolish, charging through the jungle on his own? Probably.

But he had heard Rose scream and there was nothing else on his mind other than making sure she was safe. Moving too fast to properly see where he was going, the tip of John's shoe got stuck on an exposed root, sending him flying through the air until gravity took hold and yanked him rather violently back down to earth.

John groaned and slowly got up, testing each limb for injuries. That was most certainly  _not_  his finest moment.

He heard the sound of water up ahead and decided that now was a good time as any to take a rest. He wouldn't be able to Rose much good if his legs were both broken. He squinted as he approached the waterfall. Was something behind the water?

His heart leapt as he caught sight of Rose, back against the cave wall behind the waterfall, fast asleep. He would have shouted to the heavens his thanks but he didn't want to risk waking her from a much needed sleep.

 _Where are all the others?_  He thought, remembering Jack's cries to 'wait up' after he had senselessly ran into the forest with only one thing on his mind.

John took a quick look around and realized that this just might be the place where Jack and River were headed to. It was unsettling, however, that Rose was the only one here. He had gotten quite attached to his fellow survivors.

Exhausted and sore, John collapsed on the stone floor next to Rose. He would just have to wait for them, he sure wasn't going to leave now. Although he fought to keep his eyes open he, too, drifted off.

* * *

"Rose… Rooooose," came a voice from above her, "Time to wake uuuup!"

"G'way mum," Rose muttered, throwing an arm over her eyes.

"Rose, I am  _not_ your mum!"

Rose sleepily opened her eyes and blinked, the distorted figure above her slowly came into focus to reveal a very indignant looking Donna McAvoy.

She winced as her muscles protested her movements as she tried to adjust herself against the hard wall.

"You're alive!" Rose exclaimed as her mind caught up to the present, "What's going on?"

"You've been out like a light for the past three hours, no idea how you didn't wake up with all of us bustling around you."

"All of us?" Rose asked hopefully.

Donna looked away for a moment.

"Not all of us, not Sky."

Rose's heart dropped as she thought of the sad and lonely woman out on her own.

"Was it the Angels or that… cloud thing?" Rose asked.

"How should I know? When River told us to run me and Lee just booked it. Poor thing," Donna said, more to herself than Rose, "I think he was running on adrenaline more than his own two feet. His leg's giving him some trouble now. Anyway River and Jack managed to round us all up, lord knows how. They said that after John heard you scream he went tearing off to go rescue you. Speaking of which… Oi! Lover boy, she's up!" Donna shouted so all in the cave could hear.

"We couldn't believe our eyes when River and Jack brought us here and we found you two curled up and fast asleep like fuzzy little kittens in a basket," she continued.

"Was that really necessary, Donna?" John grumbled as he approached.

"Just though you would like to know she was awake," Donna said with a grin, holding her hands up.

"You know what I mean."

"Don't think I do! Anyway, I have a husband to take care of so I'll be off!"

Rose bit back a smile as Donna walked away. John offered Rose a hand and helped her to her feet.

"Sooo…" Rose drawled, "I hear you were pretty worried about me."

"I'm always worried about you," John answered seriously.

The two stood in silence until Rose threw her arms around John. He seemed surprised at first but it wasn't long before he was doing the same.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Always."

* * *

"Still no idea what it was?" Jack asked River as they stood outside the cave.

"Nothing I'd ever seen before, Jack. The Angels took off as soon as gave them the chance so whatever it was, they don't like it."

"Do you think this was what he was warning us about?"

"I really don't know what else it would be."

River turned and looked back at the group seated around a fire, chatting amicably and trying to think about the dangers lurking on the island.

"Don't you think it would be safer for them if they knew, Jack?"

"We can't tell them River, you know that."

"But they've handled everything else remarkably well."

"Order are orders, River."

"Speaking of orders, have you been able to contact HQ yet?"

Jack shook his head.

"I haven't been able to reach them. I'm starting to think that I won't be able to."

"So, what? Are we on our own then?"

"Seems that way, yeah."

River looked up through the trees at the night sky, littered with stars and sighed.

"What have you gotten us into, old friend?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay! So I really am sorry for the wait but last Thursday we lost power because of the three feet of snow we got and we didn't get it back until Tuesday or Wednesday. So blame the weather! But I guess that's what happens when you live on a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I am a very lonely fangirl up here so I'm glad I had my phone because even if the tumblr app is crappy it's better than withering up in the corner of my room from lack of fandom interaction.
> 
> So yesss! I wasn't too sure about how I just kind of threw Sky at you all but it's harder than it seems, trying to balance a butt load of characters.


	7. One Step Closer

"Is it an animal?"

"Nope," Rose answered, popping the "p".

"Is iiiiiiiit… a food?"

"Yes."

"Vegetable?"

"Mmm, no."

"Fruit?"

Rose thought for a second.

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"Is it a banana?"

"No."

"Is it a pear? Have I told you that I  _hate_ pears?"

"You've mentioned it once or twice and thirty times. And, no. Not a pear."

"Is it colorful?"

"No."

"Have I eaten it in the past week?"

"Yes."

"Is it a coconut!?"

Rose groaned and John laughed gleefully.

"How do you always win?"

"Because I am just that brilliant!" John answered and Rose scooped up a pile of dirt and threw it at him.

"Heyy!"John protested, "Watch the hair!"

"I don't know how your hair looks so good after all of this," Rose grumbled, picking disdainfully at her own tangled blonde locks that she had wrestled into a braid.

John shrugged with a smug smile.

"Let's play again!" He suggested.

"Ugh, how about we not?"

"Oh, come on!"

"No, I need something to keep me awake for the rest of our shift unless you want us to get attacked by killer statues and or killer bug swarms!"

"So you believe that then? What Jack and River said that… thing was that you saw, you think it was a swarm of bugs?"

Rose sighed and shook her head.

"All I know is that it didn't feel like bugs. This is probably going to sound a bit mental but… it was almost like it was looking at me. You probably think I'm a complete nutter, right?"

"No."

Rose's heart skipped a beat at the seriousness in his eyes.

"River didn't seem to think it was bugs when it was attacking us," Rose recalled, leaning her head up against the outside of the cave. Same with the Angels! I guess they took off too."

"Well neither Jack or River have really given us a reason to trust them. They haven't exactly been honest these past few days."

"Wouldn't they tell us though? If it was something dangerous wouldn't they have said something by now?"

"You never know with those government types," John answered with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well don't you think we should, I dunno, try and figure out what's going on for ourselves?"

John gasped in mock disbelief.

"Rose Tyler, are you suggesting that we spy on the spies?"

Rose looked at him under her eyelashes and bit back a smile.

"Maaaaaybe?" she dragged out.

"Are you always fooling people with your façade of sweet innocence?"

"I'm serious!" She laughed, whacking him on the shoulder.

"I think we should," John told her and they exchanged conspiratorial grins, "So where were we? Ah, yes. How about charades?"

"Charades?" Rose asked, slightly taken aback at the swift change in topic.

"Yes, charades."

"Mmmmm, don't think so…"

"Why not?"

"We're in the middle of the night shift in a creepy jungle?"

"Mmm, you're probably right. I Spy?"

Rose gave a John a look.

"We could always round up the Angels and play a game of Red Light, Green Light?"

"That's not even funny!" Rose said, despite her laughter.

"Fiiine," he sighed, then brightened considerably, "Can I tell you a story?"

"A story?"

"Yeah, it  _is_  what I do for a living."

"Sure, as long as it keeps me awake," Rose shrugged and John cleared his throat dramatically.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who lived in a castle. Her name was… Violet. No wait, Daisy. Actually, it was Tulip. Tulip? Nah. Mmmmmm, Dandelion? OH! Daffodil!"

Rose snorted and John looked at her in mock offence.

"Do you mind?"

"Sorry, go ahead."

"As I was saying… there was a beautiful princess named Daffodil. One day Daffodil said, 'Screw being a princess, I'm going to go travel through space and time'."

John glanced at Rose with a twinkle in his eye as she bit back another laugh.

"So Daffodil saddled up her blue dragon and went flying off into the far reaches of space where she kicked arse and was brilliant. The end."

"Oh yeah," Rose laughed, "I can really see why you're a best seller now!"

"You should hear the ones I tell to Jenny…" John trailed off and his grin faded as he remembered his little girl.

Rose reached over and grabbed his hand.

"You'll see her again," she reassured him, "We aren't going to be stuck here forever."

* * *

"So did you see what direction it came from?" Jack asked River the next morning.

"No, but Rose said it came from…" River paused as she orientated herself and pointed, "that way, so east."

"Huh, the volcano, interesting. So do you think they bought it, the bug swarm thing?"

River scoffed.

"Well Rose was the only one who really saw it so I think the rest of them did."

"Well if she doesn't believe us she'll probably tell John and god knows that man worships the ground she walks on so…"

"Mmmm," River hummed, squinting up at the sky, "I do hope that won't complicate things later."

"When has our life ever  _not_  been complicated especially when it comes to the…"

"Hiii!" Two voices simultaneously chirped, causing River and Jack to whirl around in surprise.

Jack recovered first and plastered on his trademark smile, aiming at John and Rose.

"Well hello there!"

"Sooo," Rose asked, tilting her head and looking pointedly at their packs, "where're you two headed off to?"

"Just a bit of scavenging. Looking for food and water and such," River answered evasively.

"Mind if we tag along?" John asked, "We won't get in the way, promise! I just get a bit bored when I'm in one place for too long, you know? Get a bit antsy, just ask Rose, she'll tell ya."

"'S true, you wouldn't believe what a pain he was last night during the night shift! You'd think that keeping watch for murderous statues and mysterious swarms of bugs would be exciting enough but no! He wanted to play charades! Can you believe it? So I told him, 'John, there are people's lives at stake here and you want to play charades?!' I swear the man's completely mad sometimes," Rose tsked, shaking her head.

"I can't help myself, it's just my nature!" John said, nodding and feigning sheepishness.

"I swear we won't be any trouble," Rose continued, "Anyway, there's safety in numbers, yeah? That's what I always say."

"What if it's just the two of you and you come across those three Angels you had the pleasure of meeting yesterday? You're going to wish you had let us come along," John said and Rose nodded vigorously at his side, the two of them the picture of innocence.

River looked at Jack and smirked.

"Your call boss."

Jack sighed and forced his already strained smile even wider.

"We'd love to have you!"

"Great!" John exclaimed and grabbed Rose's hand, "We'll just go tell the others!"

The two of them skipped off back towards the cave.

"I've got to hand it to them, I really do," River chuckled.

"Looks like we aren't fooling those two after all. But really? Rose Tyler, never would've thought she'd be this much trouble," Jack sighed.

"Men always underestimate women, especially blondes," River told him with a pointed look.

"Hey!" Jack started, holding his hands up in defense, "After 33rd century Klom I have learned to not underestimate one blonde in particular."

"And don't you forget it," River said with a saucy smile, poking Jack in the chest.

* * *

As John and Rose neared the cave they gave each other a covert high five.

"This is the Doctor to the Bad Wolf, the mission is a go. I repeat, the mission is a go," John said into his wrist.

"Oh shut up!" Rose chided with a giggle.

"Did you see their faces though!"

"Yes! I wish I had a camera!"

The two of them were still chuckling when Donna walked up to them.

"Oi! What are you two cackling on a about?"

"Oh nothing, we're just going off with Jack and River with to do a little exploration," Rose answered.

"Hey Clara!" John called out across the cave.

"Yeah?"

"You're in charge!"

"Um, okay?"

"Why can't I be in charge?" Donna asked John.

"Well, you see," he started, hand flying the back of his neck, "uh, you kind of scare people."

"Ah!" Donna gasped, looking rather affronted, "I do not  _scare_  people!"

"I think what he means is that you scare  _him_ ," Rose amended quickly, pulling John away.

"Take care of yourself Rose! And as for you  _Stickman_ …" Donna trailed off menacingly and John gulped audibly.

"John? Rose? We're heading out!" River's voice floated through the air.

"Let's go Rose! We've got some detecting to do!" John said, wiggling his eyebrows.

* * *

"No."

"John!"

"Absolutely not."

"John, seriously? It's not that big of a deal."

"How can you say that!?"

"Because it isn't!"

"I would rather die."

"Okay, now you're just being dramatic!"

"I am not!"

"Mmm hmm."

John leaned in closer to Rose and lowered his voice so avoid the trained ears of Jack and River.

"I know we agreed to, you know, take things slow but Rose Tyler, I swear if you take one bite of that horrendous, atrocious, repulsive fruit I am not going anywhere near that mouth of yours ever again."

"Oh really now?" Rose baited, cocking an eyebrow and biting into a ripe green pear as John glared at her.

"Are you two done already?" Jack whined theatrically, "Seriously, you've been driving me crazy for the past two hours!"

"Knock it off Jack," River admonished as she consulted her device.

"What even is that thing?" John asked, pointing to the unfamiliar contraption.

"Oh you know, government tech," she answered, waving her hand dismissively.

"Well what does it do?" he tried again, trading a brief look with Rose.

"You do ask a lot of questions, don't you?" River replied, not looking at John.

"And here's another one. You told us that we were going to look for more food and water. We've passed two good sized rivers and plenty of fruit trees but we've only stopped now for lunch. So what are we really doing out here?"

River didn't seem too phased by John's accusatory line of questioning.

"Permission to reveal information, Captain?" she asked Jack.

"Permission granted."

"Okay John," River began, standing straight up and looking John in the eye, "No we aren't looking for food or water. We're headed in the direction of the volcano at the heart of the island."

"Why?"

"Curiosity," River answered with a shrug.

"Sorry, but that's not good enough for me!" John said, raising his voice.

"Well that's all you're going to get right now so it looks like you'll have to just trust me," River said evenly.

"Why on earth would I trust  _you_?"

Rose looked between John's angry countenance and the hurt that flashed in River's eyes and tugged gently on his hand, reining him in.

"John, 's fine."

"No, Rose! It's not fine! People have died!" John yelled, flashing back to the dead body in the makeshift huts.

"People have died," he repeated, "I'm not saying it's your fault but both of you have withheld information that could have saved lives!"

"Perhaps it's you who's the one withholding information," River said steadily, steel replacing vulnerability as she stared John in the eye.

John faltered visibly.

"Wh- what's that supposed to mean?" he asked in sincere bewilderment.

Rose and Jack watched the confrontation, she with confusion and worry and he with a readiness to step in in case River slipped up. Moments of silence passed and the tension in the air around them increased by the second.

River looked down at the device in her hands and then back at John.

"It scans the surrounding terrain and takes different kinds of energy readings. When it's working, that is. It can scan the terrain with no problem but there's something interfering with the energy analysis. The interference gets worse the further inland we go, the closer we get to the volcano. The Angels give off a specific type of energy that we can trace which is why we have this particular device. And no, we haven't been entirely honest with either of you and we still can't give you all of the information that you're seeking. Not right now, at least. But yes you need to trust me, John, because believe me, we are currently your best hope for survival."

John sniffed, not fully satisfied with River's answer but realizing that it was the best he was going to get at the moment.

"So if…" Rose started, "Whatever is making your… thing not work right is coming from the volcano then why are we going straight towards it?"

"I told you… curiosity," River said with a dry smile.

"But what about that cloud thing that you called a bug swarm? I know what I saw and while I don't have any fancy degrees like you lot I know what's bugs and what-"

Rose cut off sharply and her eyes grew wide as she caught sight of someone in the trees ahead, staring right at her with her piercing blue eyes.

"Sky!" she called out and took off in the missing woman's direction.

"Rose, wait!" the other's yelled after her.

"It's Sky! I saw her," Rose shouted, looking back as she ran, scrambling over mossy rocks and thick roots.

"No one's there Rose!" John's voice carried through the trees.

Rose's head snapped forward and she slowed, her eyes scanning the jungle ahead of her as the rest caught up to her.

"She… she…" Rose trailed off, frantically looking around for the missing woman.

"I didn't see anyone," John said slowly.

"I didn't either," Jack commented.

"She was right over here! We have to look for her. She could be hurt or… I saw her, I know I did!" Rose insisted.

John gently held Rose by her arms, calming her down.

"Sky was here John," she whispered, almost pleading him to believe her.

"I'm sure she was Rose, but she's gone now," he told her softly.

Jack and River watched them in silence, both hopeful that Rose was distracted enough to abandon her earlier line of questioning.

"The volcano is only about an hour from here, we should be on our way," Jack announced.

"What about Sky? We should look for her! She might need us-"

"Rose," Jack interrupted gently, "I'm sorry, but there's no sign of her. It would be pointless."

Rose nodded in resignation and allowed John to take her hand and pull her along after Jack and River.

For about a half hour they walked in a silence bordering on uncomfortable, given the tension hadn't fully dissipated from the earlier dispute and the unknowns surrounding Sky's reappearance that only Rose saw. The dense jungle slowly changed to smaller shrubs and trees that yet again morphed into tall grass that scratched their legs and arms as the land leveled out into a plateau. From their elevated state they had a clear line of sight to a large portion of the islands geography.

Below them lay more thick forest with deep green leaves interrupted only by a river that was much larger than the others and white with foam from the rushing water and past that, a large volcano. The side closest to them was gradual and sloping while the other visible side was abrupt and steep. The precipice of the volcano was obscured by a heavy fog.

"Well what's your mysterious and dangerous deserted island without an even more mysterious and dangerous looking volcano?" John asked, lightening the mood a bit.

"Wow," Rose breathed as she took in the landscape.

"It really is beautiful," River remarked, "Wish I had a camera."

"As breathtaking as it is," Jack sighed as he squinted up at the cloudy sky, "We shouldn't stop for long. I have a feeling we might get rained on."

Jack's words proved true and minutes after making their way down into the jungle a faint rain began to fall. No one was complaining however. The light drizzle was a welcome change to the hot and humid air that clung to their skin. The group made quick work of the jungle and soon came across the river they had seen from the plateau. It was deep and about fifteen feet across with sharp rocks jutting out, making the turbulent waters swirl and foam aggressively around them.

A bit farther downstream the river widened out. While it was still too fast to swim through there were several smoother and larger rocks protruding from the surface enough to provide safe passageway from one side of the river to the other. Jack went across first, testing out each and every stepping stone for stability. He called the others across after successfully making it to the other side.

"Be careful though!" He shouted over the din of the rushing water, "The rocks are a little slippery and the rain isn't helping!"

Rose went after Jack and made quick work of navigating the somewhat perilous rocks and was nearly halfway across when the light shower turned into a steady rain that continued to grow into a near deluge.

Hair that had escaped Rose's braid fell in her eyes and impeded her vision and slipped before regaining her balance.

"Just go back Rose!" Jack yelled to her over the pounding of the rain and the water on the rocks, "But be careful!"

Rose nodded shakily and pushed the sopping hair behind her ear and turned. She caught John's distressed eye and attempted to give him a reassuring smile before going back.

 _One step closer, one step closer,_  she told herself over and over again as she traversed the slippery rocks.

The sudden torrent of rain caused the river to swell and one of the stepping stones was slowly being covered by the rapidly rising waters.

Rose hesitantly put one foot on the disappearing rock and was caught off guard by the strength of the water as it swirled around her boot.

"Rose wait!" She heard John yell, "I'm coming for you!"

"It's too dangerous, John!" River told him, placing a firm hand on his arm.

"So what? Do you expect me to just watch her slip and fall to her death?" He asked harshly, eyes flashing.

They held each other's gaze for a quick moment before River pulled her hand away.

The water seeped through the canvas of John's sneaker as he took his first step. Water ran from his fringe plastered across his forehead and into his eyes and the image of Rose ahead of him blurred. He blinked furiously but she kept on getting more and more distorted. Relying on his feet more than anything else he felt his way to the next stone.

_One step closer._

Rose watched as John slowly but steadily grew closer. Not wanting him to have to take a step further than he had to, she got herself together and stepped back onto the rock, now completely under water. The water reached halfway up her shins as it pushed her closer to the edge. She inched her way across its submerged surface and felt to the edge with her toe.

_One step closer._

She wobbled slightly as the tip of her foot felt nothing under it but she quickly recuperated and stretched her leg out further to find the next rock. She could see John merely feet from her, arm outstretched, hers for the taking.

_One step closer._

John's vision became increasingly blurred but he kept his eyes trained on the pink and yellow form now merely steps away from him. Then there was a strong force at his feet and a scream as he slipped into the raging waters.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: CLIFFHANGER.
> 
> So yeah? How's it going you guys, been a bit since we last spoke, sorry about that. Really. Just writers block and a bout of self deprecation, but hey! I'm here now!
> 
> So what's new? Well I have a beta now (wooohooo!) but we're still figuring things out a bit but I'm super excited to work with her! Ummm, my brother's fiancee is pregnant so I'm gonna be an Aunt in September! Oh, and my 17th birthday is the 12th! Weehaw!
> 
> Thanks again for all the follows and favorites and reviews, I swear, you guys are the absolute best. Like, seriously. SO KEEP 'EM COMING HOMIES! Hmm. That was lame. But please tell me how I did! There was quite a lot of dialogue which I'm trying to get better at so... yeah :)


	8. A Hand to Hold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! What is this? Could it be a chapter that did not take over a week to post? I suppose so.

He's cold. And wet.

Something was digging into his back and he tried to move but couldn't. His limbs were numb and felt like lead.

There were voices above him, muffled but strong.

Someone was crying and calling his name. He tried to open his eyes but it  _hurt_.

Everything hurt.

There were more voices, worried and strained.

" _Do you have it?"_

" _Yes."_

" _We need to make a decision before it's too late."_

" _I know."_

* * *

"Do you have it?" River asked Jack, leaning over the listless and sopping wet body.

"Yes."

"We need to make a decision before it's too late."

Jack's hand reached into his pocket and fingered the cool metal, tracing the intricate engravings with his thumb.

"I know."

* * *

There was an ache in his chest. It almost felt like he was being sat on by an elephant. His lungs felt like they were on fire. He needed to breath, but he couldn't.

There were two hands on his chest, small and lithe yet determined and forceful. He heard the voice again, pleading instead of crying. The voice was begging him breathe and he was  _trying_ , really, he was. But his mind began to fuzzy around the edges but he clung on to the voice, he clung on  _for_  the voice. He wasn't sure who it was but he knew the voice was important, the voice mattered.

Two larger hands replaced the smaller ones, trying to jar his lungs back into action.

His mind became pleasantly fuzzy, his thoughts blurred around the edges. He felt like he was floating in midair, suspended by strings that were being cut one by one until only a singular thread remained.

_Was this what dying felt like?_

Then there was nothing but emptiness and silence and a beat of four pulsing in the back of his mind. From the barren space there came a faint singing in his head that grew louder and louder. An untouchable something that sang of something vast and eternal and timeless but as hard as he tried he couldn't make out the words.

Above the roar of the unknown melody in his mind the voice came again, piercing through the remaining of his subconscious.

_Please come back to me, please._

The euphony in his head reached a crescendo as the final thread was cut but instead of floating he was falling and landing on something hard and unforgiving. The song ended abruptly as he hit the ground and jerked upward.

The burning sensation in his lungs rushed up through his throat and his nose and while everything still hurt the elephant sitting on his chest was gone. Sweet air rushed into his lungs and then back out again. There was a reassuring hand on his face, stroking his forehead and pushing wet fringe off of his forehead. Lolling his head to the side he leaned into the touch and tried opened his eyes.

"John?"

He squinted against the bright light which was soon blocked out by a face hovering above him.

"John?"

He focused on the face, the long blonde hair hanging in wet chunks, the beautiful brown eyes bloodshot and filled with fear, the full pink lips that he just wanted to touch…

"John?"

She gently pulled his hand away from her mouth and placed it on her cheek.

"John can you hear me?"

"Rose?"

* * *

"Oh thank god," River sighed with relief.

Jack released the iron grip on the object in his pocket and ran his hands over his face.

"That was too close," he muttered almost unintelligibly.

"Hello!" John croaked out weakly.

"Hello," Rose responded as she laughed through her tears.

The trek back to the cave was long and arduous. They took several stops along the way there, despite John's insistence that he was fine.

Rose had explained to him how a chunk of debris from upstream had been what caused him to loose balance. He had hit his head as he fell and was quickly swept under. Jack had jumped in after him and it had been a tense 30 seconds for and River. Especially for Rose, considering she was still in the middle of the river and the water had climbed up almost to her knees. River had gotten her calmed down and focused on getting across.

"I really thought I almost lost you," she whispered, "and then Jack finally surfaced and dragged you up on the bank and… the rain had let up by then but…" she sniffed as she trailed off and John wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm right here, Rose. And I'm not going anywhere, trust me."

"Shouldn't I be the one consoling you?" Rose asked with a halfhearted laugh, "You're the one who nearly died!"

"Yes, weeell, I wasn't exactly conscious for the whole escapade so it was a much worse experience for you than it was for me."

The foursome was nearly silent on the trip back, all lost in their own thoughts.

Every time Rose closed her eyes all she could see was Jack dragging John's limp and unconscious body onto the rocky bank. She could see River's face when she announced that she couldn't find a pulse. She hadn't told John about that bit, about the harrowing 23 seconds in which there was no heartbeat. She still wasn't sure if she was going to.

Jack's hand kept straying to the precious metal object in his pocket and mentally chastising himself. It had been foolish, jumping in the water after John without making sure that it was secure. He could've lost it forever in that river. Who knows what would've happened then?

River felt immensely guilty. She should've tried harder to keep John from going across the river to rescue Rose. She should have been the one to try and rescue her, it had almost cost him his life. Although, she had a feeling that anything she may have said would've fallen on deaf ears.  _Him and his bloody stubborn arse._

John was trying to focus on putting one foot in front of the other without taking a tumble. He did his best to hide it but he was feeling rather dizzy and his head was  _killing_  him. His throat ached and each step over the unforgiving ground was a trial. He was no fool, he knew he was getting sick he just hoped he could keep the symptoms at bay long enough. They needed to get back to cave as soon as possible. Having to stop for the night was the last thing they needed.

"What song is that?" Rose asked, breaking John from his reverie, "'S pretty."

"Sorry?"

"That song you were humming, what was it?"

"Ah, I'm not sure… didn't even know I was humming."

Rose nodded but eyed him warily. Maybe he had hit his head a little harder than they originally thought?

* * *

It was a good three hours with several rests in between before the tired and bedraggled group reached the cave. Rose brought John to Martha and Rory immediately.

"You've got quite the egg, John," Martha told him as she combed through his hair and inspected the injury. "There really isn't an awful lot I can do for you, sorry. It is however safe to say that you might have a concussion. So no more running about everywhere for at least a week. You hear me?"

John grumbled but acquiesced.

"I also wouldn't be surprised if you came down with a cold as well," Martha added, "You need some sleep. Find someone to cover your shift for you. You too, Rose. You're both exhausted and not just physically."

Rose wouldn't argue that sleep sounded nice. But while sleep came quickly for the both of them that night, it wasn't very peaceful.

Rose was haunted by visions of John falling into the water and never making it back out. Sometimes it was Sky who pushed him in while in other dreams it was her. In another dream the water turned into the "bug swarm" and devoured John, River, and Jack, leaving her for last.

John's nightmares were much the same as they had always been. Fire and emptiness and people screaming for help. Echoes of the dead and dying rattled around in his head along with the harsh and unearthly cries of "EXTERMINATE". Dreams of him holding Jenny, her blood staining his suit as she died in his arms. And now visions of Rose standing in front of him, so alive and so beautiful before she vanishes into thin air and all he can see is an Angel with an outstretched finger where she stood seconds before.

* * *

Rose woke to the cries of John, lying next to her. She reached for his hand, trying to sooth him to the best of her ability so he could get the sleep he so desperately needed. She looked around the cave, barely lit by the dwindling embers of the fire. Someone, it looked like Sally, stirred but other than that it was silent, save for John's restless whimpers.

She put her hand on John's head to calm him down but quickly pulled it away as soon as she made contact with his skin. It was burning hot and his hair was soaked with sweat.

She spotted Martha at the edge of the cave, sleeping soundly. Rose debated whether or not she should wake her up. What really could she do for him anyway?

Rose tore off the bottom of her shirt and went to soak it in the river.

"Is everything okay?" A voice whispered and she jumped.

"Oh, Jethro, it's you, sorry. I forgot you and Rory would be out here."

"Is everything alright?" Rory asked, repeating Jethro's question.

"John's got a fever and I was just getting something cool to put on his head."

"Want me to take a look at him? I don't think I could do much but it wouldn't do any harm either." Rory offered.

"Sure, thanks," Rose replied, wringing the excess water out of the strip of fabric.

Jethro stayed on alert while Rose and Rory padded softly back into the cave to where John slept. She placed the cloth on his forehead and rubbed his cheek with her thumb as he continued to thrash.

"Should I try to wake him up?" Rose whispered.

"No, just see if you can calm him down."

Rose nodded and knelt down closer to his ear.

"John? It's me Rose. You're okay, you're safe."

Nothing changed and Rose looked up at Rory.

"It's not helping!"

"Keep trying."

Rose laced her fingers with the hand resting on his chest.

"You don't need to be scared John, I've got you. Everything's going to be alright."

John stilled somewhat and was silent except for a few quiet whimpers.

"I've got you John."

Rose didn't sleep that night, instead keeping a strict vigil over John who continued to be delirious from fever. The sun replaced the moon in the sky as dawn came and brought a new day. Donna came and sat with them for a while (" _It would help if he wasn't so bloody skinny_ "). Rose smiled gratefully when Clara brought her something to eat and a book to read.

"It's one of my favorites," Clara told her, "I always read it between during flights and thought it might help you pass the time."

 _Twenty Seven Planets_  by Johannes Smith.

" _Dr. Johannes Smith, but everyone just calls me John…"_

Rose laughed to herself at the coincidence as she opened the book. So this was it, John's story about his two hearted time traveling alien. One of them at least. It opened easily, the spine worn and the pages soft from use. Rose hesitated before starting the first chapter and glanced at John's sleeping body.

 _Should I, I dunno, wait for his permission?_  Rose thought to herself. She knew it sounded silly, after all, he had written the book for the world to read so of course it would be fine for her to read it. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Dismissing her thoughts with a shake of her head, she started to read.

* * *

" _What are you going to do now?" the Captain asked._

" _Oh you know. Same old life, last of the Time Lords."_

" _On your own?"_

" _What other way is there?"_

* * *

"Rose?"

Rose's head snapped up from the book.

"Are you alright?" Martha asked.

"Yeah," Rose said, nodding quickly, wiping an errant tear from her eye.

"You sure?" she asked warily.

"Yup!" Rose chirped, looking brightly up at Martha, "So how is he?"

"Same," Martha sighed, "We'll just have to wait for his fever to break."

"How long will that take?"

"Shouldn't be too much longer but after falling into that freezing water, then making the long trip back here and adding it to his lack of sleep, not to mention the stress of the situation, he needs all the rest he can get."

Rose nodded.

"What about you Rose?" Martha asked gently, "Really, how are you?"

She nodded again though her eyes told a different story.

"He'll be okay if you leave him for a few minutes Rose. You've barely moved all day. You should get some fresh air."

Martha pulled her new friend into a hug, deciding that maybe now wasn't the time to press for information on her well-being.

Donna however, had no such reservations.

"You look like crap," she told Rose, not unkindly, once she was outside the cave.

"Thanks," Rose said dryly.

"Seriously though Rose, are you okay?"

"Are any of us?

"Fair point."

"His heart stopped," Rose said after a beat, "for 23 seconds there was nothing. And I jus'…"

"C'mere you," Donna said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"He was trying to save me."

"Don't you start that!" Donna chastised, "It's not going to get you anywhere."

"I know," Rose sighed.

"It's okay not to be the strong one all of the time you know. It's okay to talk about things."

"I'm not the only one going through a hard time, Donna!"

"I know, but you're the one who's been comforting everyone else. What about you? You can't keep everything inside. I learned that from experience," Donna paused, "I was engaged to this man, Lance his name was. I loved him so much but then, on my,  _our_ , wedding day, he left me. For another woman. I was devastated."

"Oh, Donna…"

"Let me finish, Rose. I thought that if I just pushed everything I felt away and just ignored it I would feel better. I was wrong though, it just made me angry and irritable. It took me a while to figure it out but eventually I did. Bottling things up is never good for you. And then I met Lee and, well, you know."

"I'm just so tired, Donna," Rose said resignedly.

"I know, but lover boy will wake up in no time and you two will be back to doing whatever it is you do in this jungle."

* * *

Sleep came easily for Rose, though it was mostly from pure exhaustion than a rested mind.

She finished  _Twenty Seven Planets_  before lunch. She looked at John, who was no longer looking grey and troubled. A little bit of color was back in his cheeks and his breathing was even. Rose thought about everything that John had told her about his life, which wasn't an awful lot. He was very good about avoiding personal questions. But what she could ascertain about John and from what she read, there were several similarities between the two of them. She was almost certain that a large piece of the Doctor's character came from the author himself. The thought saddened her. The Doctor was a very lonely man who carried the weight of the universe on his shoulders.

 _No one should have to carry that burden without a hand to hold_ , she thought, gripping John's hand just a little tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know it's a little short and a whole lot happens but some huge easter eggs got dropped soooo... Anyway this chapter wasn't beta'd because Bread Loaf has gotten hit with a butt load of snow and if we lose power for five days again I wanted to have posted something. So all mistakes are mine!
> 
> And if you're wondering, Bread Loaf is my town name. It's in Vermont. If you don't believe me then... well it sucks to be you. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
> 
> So yeah, the usual... thanks for all of those of you who have been reviewing and following and favoriting or if you're on AO3 then thanks for commenting and bookmarking! In case you don't know my tumblr url is addledstateofmind (shameless self promotion) so follow me! If you feel like it.
> 
> ;)


	9. Labyrinth

The stone was cold and uncomfortable, helped only minimally by a thin blanket. John blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the low light of the cave. Images of his dream flashed before his eyes before they slowly slipped away, just out of his mind's reach.

It had started off as all of his dreams did. He was the Doctor, two hearts pumping madly against his ribcage as he fled across the universe trying to escape from… from something. What had he been fleeing from? He could almost remember. Well it didn't matter anyway, it was just a dream. All of them were. Best-selling dreams, but dreams nonetheless.

John winced as he tried to ease himself into a sitting position. Everything ached- his head, his neck, his back. He couldn't even feel one of his arms. It felt like something was on top of… oh.

A small smile graced his lips as he saw (and felt) how his arm was trapped underneath the soft and warm body of Rose Tyler. He carefully extricated his arm from under her person, holding his breath as he did so and praying he wouldn't awaken her. The faint sunlight filtered its way into the cave gave everything an ethereal essence. With the mussed and wild hair around her head caught the light perfectly and almost looked like she was glowing. Soft shadows were cast across her face, highlighting her full lips and furrowed brow as she stirred in her sleep. She relaxed again and John remembered to breath, having been entranced by the woman lying in front of him.

He raised himself until he was sitting up and shook the pins and needles from his arm. The low babbling of the stream and the waterfall mixed with the murmured conversation of whoever was keeping guard outside. That added to the cave being bathed in early morning light made for a very peaceful atmosphere. It really was beautiful. It was moments like this that made it easy to forget the situation all of them were in. Despite the dangers around them, if Jenny was safe at his side and not scared and alone with only her grandfather to comfort her, he would almost be enjoying himself. It was really quite an adventure, especially with someone like Rose. Someone who was beautiful, passionate, clever, and brave.

 _Then again_ , John thought,  _I could also be describing Captain Jack…_

He wondered (not for the first time) if she would like to travel with him and Jenny when all of this was over with. He smiled at her sleeping figure, the steady rise and fall of her chest. He frowned slightly and took a closer look. One arm was curled up under her head while the other lay across her stomach on top of a book with some  _very_  familiar cover art peeking through her fingers. He gently pried the book from her. She stirred again but didn't wake.

 _27 Planets_  by Johannes Smith, his first book.

He chuckled softly and flipped through the pages, taking care to mark Rose's place. Familiar lines and words jumped out at him. He caught sight of a name written in blue ink on the inside cover.

 _Clara Oswin Oswald_.

John smiled, making a mental note to sign it for her later.

"I've read it twice already," a voice whispered in front of him.

John dropped the book in surprise and the hardcover slammed on the stone floor and echoed loudly throughout the cave.

Rose bit her lip to keep from laughing as John looked around frantically to see it he had woken anyone up. There was a snore from Lee and Donna's (from Lee,  _of course_ ) but other than that no one even moved a muscle.

"You scared me!" John whispered accusingly at Rose as she leaned on the palms of her hands.

She covered her mouth with her hand as another wave of giggles took over. He faked indignance as he gingerly picked the book of off the floor and brushed it off.

"Sorry," she whispered sheepishly before the mirth vanished from her eyes and was replaced by concern, "So how're you feeling?"

"A bit crummy and sore. A good night's sleep did me a world of good."

"You weren't asleep for a night John, you fell into the river two days ago! You had a fever and you were shivering all at the same time. Kept calling out in your sleep too. You had me worried, all of us actually."

"Well I'm fine now," John reassured her, reaching for her hand, "Always been a quick healer, me," he added with a grin.

"So, the book, how'd you like it?" he asked, switching topics.

Rose narrowed her eyes at the evasion but didn't press the issue.

"Much better than the rubbish they had us reading at school, that's for sure. Like I said, I read it twice. Clara said it was her favorite," Rose added, nodding her head to the sleeping woman across the cave.

"Mmm," John hummed, "I'll have to sign it for her. If I can find a pen, that is."

He turned his head back to Rose, who was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm just really glad you're back. Not sure what I'd do without you," she said quietly, pulling him into a hug.

"You'd be absolutely fantastic, that's what," he murmured into her wild blonde mane as he reciprocated the gesture.

Rose giggled.

"What is it now?" John asked, his voice bordering on perplexed.

"You're a little stubbly," came the muffled reply.

"Well unless you find me a nice sharp rock and a puddle, I'm going to stay that way," John chuckled before pulling away and looking at Rose seriously, "Why? Does it look bad?"

"No! It looks… I like it," she said, her cheeks going pink.

"It  _is_  a bit itchy now that you mention it."

"Want me to scratch it for you?" Rose asked innocently with a tongue touched grin.

"Uh, er… I," John swallowed thickly.

"Oh well isn't this wizard!" Someone interrupted, "The love birds are at it again!"

"Morning Donna!" Rose smiled at the woman.

"Morning Rose," Donna smiled back at her before whacking John on the back of his head.

"Good to have you back, Stick Man. But never do that again!"

"Told you we were worried," Rose said with a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes.

With Donna up it wasn't long before the rest of the cave's inhabitants were roused from sleep. John received a hearty welcome back to consciousness and a check up by Martha. Deedee, Sally, and Clara went out and found enough fruit for breakfast.

"We're going to have to find something other than fruit to eat pretty soon," Rory pointed out.

"Na tha' you menfin it," John started, his mouth full of banana, "Ah ha'en see a'y a'mals."

"Just another thing about this island that doesn't add up," Martha said.

"We could always try fishing," Lee suggested with a shrug.

"That was our first date," Donna grinned, nudging her husband with her shoulder, "There I am all done up in my fancy dress and he takes me fishing!"

After breakfast the group dispersed to go searching for sticks that would be able to be turned into makeshift poles.

"Fish! It'll be like a good ol' dinner of fish and chips!" John remarked brightly to Rose and Clara as the three of them headed off together.

"Ughh!" Rose groaned dramatically, "Don't even! What I wouldn't do for a basket of hot chips soaked in vinegar right now. That's it. First thing that I do once I get off this bloody island is getting chips."

"Mmm, I think I'll join you," Clara smiled, "So how'd you like the book Rose? You went through it pretty quickly."

"I thought it was great! I had never heard of it before but it turns out that I'm good friends with the author," Rose answered with a grin.

"Really!? Do you think I could meet him?"

"Sure! I can set it up right now," she said, her smile growing even wider.

"But, um…" Clara looked confused when Rose grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around so she was facing John.

"Hello," John said, almost bashfully, as waved his fingers at her before rubbing the back of his neck.

"Shut up!" Clara nearly squealed, "Your Johannes Smith? I was going to go to one of your book signings but then the kids I watch both got the stomach flu! I have every single one of your books!"

"There's more than one?" Rose asked.

Clara nodded vigorously.

"There's five.  _27 Planets_  is just the first one," John answered.

"So what do you think about the whole TARDIS coincidence?" Clara asked them.

"What do you mean 'TARDIS coincidence'?" John asked her.

"TARDIS air? The airline we all took that was supposed to bring us to Fiji?" she prodded, "Just like the Doctor's TARDIS. The plane was even the color that I always pictured his ship to be."

"I never noticed that before," John said slowly, looking unsettled, "Why didn't I notice that?"

"Maybe you had your mind on  _other things_ ," the brunette said cheekily, winking in a blatantly obvious manner in Rose's direction, causing her friends to blush.

"But seriously John, how do you come up with- ah!" Clara's question ended abruptly with a shriek as she disappeared from Rose and John's view.

"Clara!" Rose shouted in alarm, dropping to her knees.

"I'm fine, I'm in… I'm in a hole."

"Yeah, we can see that."

"It's pretty deep. I don't think you can reach me- hey…"

Clara fell silent and the only sound was a soft shuffling from within the hole.

"Clara?" John called down, peering into the darkness, "Clara, are you alright?"

"Yeah fine…" she trailed off, clearly distracted.

"What is it Clara?" Rose asked.

"There's a tunnel down here! A right little snog tunnel!"

"Snog tunnel?" John repeated, his face crinkled in disgust.

"Are you two up for a little adventure?" Clara's voice floated back up to them and they could practically hear the mischievous twinkle in her eye.

* * *

"I can't see a bleedin' thing!" Rose grumbled as she, John, and Clara blindly felt their way through the narrow passage.

It was about five feet tall and two feet wide with jagged rocks protruding from all sides. The walls were damp and cool little droplets dropped onto their foreheads providing a small relief from the warm and stuffy air.

"We should probably stop every few minutes to catch our breath. The air is pretty stale."

The two women stopped and nodded, perspiration gathering on all of their foreheads.

"Where do you think this leads?" Clara asked them.

"Maybe it leads to our cave?" Rose suggested.

"It's going in the right direction," John noted.

The three carried on for a few minutes when Clara stopped suddenly. John ran into Rose and she stumbled. He instantly reached for her waist to steady her, his hands lingering longer than necessary.

"You okay?" He asked, his voice low and rumbling just above her ear.

"Yeah," Rose replied, feeling breathless and lightheaded for reasons that did  _not_  involve stale air.

"What is it Clara?" John asked.

"I think there's a fork," Clara said, groping along the tunnel's wall, "Yeah… we can keep going straight or take a right. Oh good, if we take a right I think we can actually stand up."

"Let's take a right, please," John requested, feeling the strain of forcing his 6' 1" frame into a crouch.

They turned and took a moment to stretch before continuing forward. They moved quicker now that they weren't hindered by a low ceiling and their eyes were beginning to adjust to the inky blackness. They found more off shooting passageways along the walls of the tunnel but kept to main one to avoid getting lost if they reached a dead end. Also, their current tunnel was the only one large enough to comfortably accommodate John's tall, lanky frame.

"Is it just me or is it getting hotter in here?" Rose asked, leaning against the rough walls for a rest.

"I don't think we're exerting ourselves enough to get this warm so yes, I would say it's getting warmer," John said.

The water that dripped from the ceiling and the walls was no longer cool and refreshing. It was warm and some parts of the tunnel were steaming.

"Am I just hungry or does anyone else smell eggs?" Clara wondered out loud.

"Now that you mention it… it does smell like eggs," Rose agreed and John sniffed deeply.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, the face of one who has just had an epiphany clear on his features, "It isn't eggs we smell, it's sulfur! Oh I'm thick! The volcano Rose! This tunnel must lead right to it!"

"But it took us the whole morning and then some to even get to that river a few days ago. We haven't been in here more than a couple of hours," Rose pointed out.

"We were also crawling over roots and boulders and fallen logs, the tunnel is probably a more direct route," he told her.

"Shouldn't we turn around then?" Rose asked, "Aren't volcanos dangerous?"

"We should be fine. There haven't been any signs of activity and we're probably safer underground than above if it does decide to spontaneously erupt," John reassured her.

The trio kept going and the air got warmer and warmer. Curiosity overruled comfort, however and soon enough they saw a faint glow in the distance. The tunnel walls were hot to the touch and they left a grimy black dust on their hands.

"We're going to be a right mess after this," Clara commented as she, Rose, and John exited the tunnel and walked into a massive cavernous space.

There was a small space for the three of them to stand and gape at the sheer enormity of the hallowed are and the rolling and bubbling pool of magma that stretched out for yards and yards. The thick orange and yellow liquid was interrupted only by brown and black chunks of stone.

"Oh my god," Clara gasped.

"This is just… wow," John said, shaking his head as he took in the amazing sight.

Rose barely heard their expressions, as she was fixated on something in the center of the undulating boiling magma. There was something… something off about that one spot. It was almost like it was… glowing. The longer Rose stared the more tuned out to her surroundings she became. All she could hear was the rush of her blood in her ears in tune to the beat of her own heart. There was something else in the back of her head… almost like a singing. Movement across the deadly pool caught her eye and she slowly raised her eyes from the near hypnotic sight of the glow. The air shimmered from the heat and bubbles grew and popped releasing gas and shooting magma into the air. Past the shimmering and the flecks of yellow and orange in the air something was staring at her from the other side of the volcano.

It was a wolf, standing large and muscular as it stared at her. Its eyes were a swirling misty gold and its honey white fur moved slightly from a breeze.

A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped violently.

"Are you okay Rose?" John asked, his brown eyes laced with concern.

"Yeah..." she murmured, whipping her head back across the expanse of magma.

The wild animal was gone, along with the rush and the melody in her mind.

"Are you sure? You look pale…"

"I'm fine, John," Rose said, flashing him a smile, "It all just took my breath away for a second."

"We probably shouldn't stay long. Breathing this air is  _not_  good for the lungs."

Clara nodded and went back into the tunnel with John right behind her. Rose looked back once more before following after them.

"So do you think we should tell Jack and River?" John asked her after they had been back in the tunnel for a while.

"I s'pose so, I mean, they said whatever was messing with their scanner thing came from the volcano…" Rose said distractedly, her mind straying back to the strange occurrence at the center of the volcano.

"Are you sure you're alright, Rose? You seem a little off," John asked, his eyes serious.

"Just need a good lung full of oxygen, yeah?" She said brightly.

John raised his eyebrows but said nothing, only grabbing her hand and lacing his fingers with hers.

They were just about to turn from the larger passageway to the original small one when a low rumble echoed throughout the tunnel. Dust and small pebbles rained down from the ceiling and all three of them looked at each other in alarm.

"We need to get out of here, now," John said urgently and Clara quickly ducked in the smaller tunnel.

John and Rose went to follow her when a louder rumble came and shook the ground, causing the both of them to lose their balance and fall. More dust rained down, now accompanied by larger rocks instead of mere stones. John and Rose were scrambling to their feet when the entrance to the smaller tunnel caved in, completely blocking the entrance.

"No!" John shouted, Clara's panicked face the last thing they saw before rubble cut them off from their friend.

The ground shook again, though not as harshly as the second time. They both coughed as they breathed in the dust filled air.

"Rose! John!" They heard Clara yell from the other side of the debris, "Are you okay!"

"For now," John answered, his voice hoarse, "You?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think my tunnel is still intact! I'm going to go get help, okay? Just wait!"

John sighed and looked at Rose, fear evident in her amber eyes.

Just wait.

There really wasn't much else they could do.


End file.
